Giro d’Italia 2014 – Stage 15 Preview

By David Hunter

Stage 14 Recap

A massive break of 22 riders got away at the start of the stage and didn’t come back. The GC riders were happy to wait until the last climb, before attacking each other. Tim Wellens managed to pick up a lot of KOM points and incredibly the stage was won by Battaglin of Bardiani. The sprinter, yes a sprinter, appeared from nowhere to surprise the leading 3 riders. He timed his run to perfection and stole the stage from Dario Cataldo.

There was some serious action from the GC riders. Again, Pierre Roland went long and did well. Quintana and Pozzovivo were the big winners, Evans did okay, but Uran looked on his knees. The two small men, took a little bit of time but still lie more than 2 minutes down. Although, there are plenty more opportunities to attack!

Pink – Uran, Red – Bouhanni, Blue – Arredondo, White – Majka

Stage 15 Valdengo – Plan di Montecampione 225km

Another mountaintop finish:)

After the excitement of stage 14, we have another stage that will see some movement on GC.

We have an exceptionally dull day of racing, until the final 20km!

The final climb is split into 2 steep, uphill sections and a short, flat middle section.

11km at 8% and then a final 5.35 km at 8.7%. This is another climb in the memory of Marco Pantani and it’s a brut!

This is a very hard climb and we will see some big time gaps, but what sort of race will we get?

It’s a long stage and OPQS will be more than happy to let the break take the bonus seconds. Will the other teams work together to keep the stage win alive? The pressure will be on Movistar and AG2R, to see if they want to ride on the front of the peloton, all day.

The major advantage for the peloton is the very flat profile. It will be hard for the break to get a big advantage, if the peloton are in the mood to chase.

Stage 14 showed that Pozzovivo and Quintana are the men to watch. If the Colombian has fully recovered from his illness then the rest should be afraid! He likes to attack from long range, so expect him to go at the foot of the climb. He needs to make up some time, so it would make sense for him to attack early and scatter the peloton.

Can Pozzovivo keep up? Will Uran and Evans have an answer?

Prediciton time…

If it’s a breakaway, then a proper climber will need to be there, will Scarponi give it a go?

If the peloton catches the break, then it has to be Quintana. This climb suits him down to the ground. I go with Nairo!

David Hunter

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