Blues looking forward to mountains after challenging TT
17 October 2020

Giro d'Italia (st. 14)

Pedrero, Samitier focused -just like the rest of the Movistar Team- on stage win contention in the upcoming six road stages, remain within overall top-20 as Almeida (DQT) extends lead, Ganna (IGD) dominates.

/ Today’s route

The 2020 Giro d’Italia was starting its decisive stages on Saturday, with day 14 marking a huge test at the 34km ITT between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, the land of Prosecco wines. It wasn’t a completely suited course for specialists, because, seven kilometers after the start, the riders had to tackle the Muro di Ca’ del Poggio (Cat-4; 1.1km at 12.3%), and in the final section, a long series of little lumps were tackled before a slightly uphill finish.

/ Weather report

Even if the forecast in the morning talked about a significant possibility of rain during the race, roads eventually stayed dry for the riders not to contend with either bad weather or the wind they suffered during the opening TT in Palermo. Temperatures were cool but alright: 11 to 14ºC.

Dario Cataldo was the top Movistar Team performer at the ITT. (c) BettiniPhoto

/ Keys to the race

  • Filippo Ganna (IGD) completed yet another exhibition, this time over a longer, lumpier course, to win ahead of team-mate Rohan Dennis and American Brandon McNulty (UAD) for his third stage success in this year’s Giro. la carrera. A 48kph average ride to perform even better than the GC contenders, from which race leader Joao Almeida (DQT) was the strongest to extend his lead as Maglia Rosa.
  • Within the Movistar Team riders, Dario Cataldo was, with a time of 46’05”, just over three minutes from Ganna, the top finisher of a squad which keeps their sights set on chasing a stage win in the six road stages still left before Milan. Antonio Pedrero, a pure climber, struggled over a course less suited to his characteristics and finished just over 48′. The Terrassa native, who remains in the top-20 overall alongside Sergio Samitier, will now enjoy a bigger margin to seek for some move, about 7′ behind Almeida.
Sergio Samitier at the Muro di Ca’ del Poggio. (c) BettiniPhoto

/ Upcoming goals

The Giro will head into its decisive, big mountains on Sunday, hoping that all scheduled stages can be covered and weather doesn’t ruin what’s hoped to be a brutal final week. Stage 15 will be a 185km journey between the Base Aerea Rivolto, where the Italian army’s aerobatic unit is located, and the top of Piancavallo (Cat-1; 14.5km at 7.8%), preceded by the climbs of Sella Chianzutan (Cat-2), Forcella di Monte Rest (Cat-2) and Forcella di Pala Barzana (Cat-2).

Cover picture (c): BettiniPhoto