Picture 1 of 26
As if Tadej Pogačar’s domination of the 2024 Giro d’Italia wasn’t already clear sufficient, the maglia rosa put in yet one more gorgeous show on the queen stage 15 to Livigno, racking up a fourth stage win with a 14km solo experience.
The Slovenian jumped away from the choose GC group on the penultimate first-category climb of the Passo di Foscagno, leaving his rivals within the mud and placing three minutes into them as he handed the stays of the breakaway – together with sole chief Nairo Quintana (Movistar), who he raced previous 2km from the road.
He’d haven’t any equal in the course of the Giro’s first high-mountain Alpine foray, ultimately crossing the road alone for his eleventh win of the season, 29 seconds forward of Quintana in second place. One other breakaway man, Georg Steinhauser (EF Schooling-EasyPost), rounded out the rostrum in third at 2:32 down on Pogačar.
In the meantime, a full 2:50 would cross earlier than the remainder of the highest GC males got here to the end, Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) and Dani Martínez (Bora-Hansgrohe) main the way in which, whereas Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) trailed residence one other eight seconds again.
The way it unfolded
Following a sizeable GC shakeup on the stage 14 time trial of the Giro d’Italia into Desenzano del Garda, there can be no let up for the highest contenders on stage 15, with the day delivering 222km, three first-category climbs, and 5,400 metres of elevation.
All that will be packed on the highway from Manerba del Garda to Livigno, with the fearsome Passo del Mortirolo taking satisfaction of place on the Giro’s queen stage.
With so many mountain factors on supply in addition to an opportunity to remain away to the end and take an enormous stage win, it was no shock to see main strikes constituted of the off as an infinite stream of riders sought to make the break of the day.
Mountain jersey wearer Simon Geschke (Cofidis) particularly was eager to make the transfer, mendacity second place within the blue jersey competitors, albeit 45 factors down on Tadej Pogačar.
He would miss the primary transfer, nevertheless, as a gaggle of 13 made it away contained in the opening 10km with one other mountain classification risk – Lilian Calmejane (Intermarché-Wanty) – amongst their quantity, which curiously included a number of sprinters like Caleb Ewan (Jayco-AlUla) and Davide Ballerini (Astana Qazaqstan).
In response, Cofidis took to the top of the peloton driving for Geschke, even when they already lay at three minutes down.
Laurence Pithie (Groupama-FDJ) led the break over the primary climb of the day, the third-category Lodrino (7.6km at 4.4%). Again down the highway, in the meantime, Geschke and Cofidis had been main a counter-break of virtually 40 riders which had break up from the peloton.
Following a sustained chase on the highway to the following climb, the teams would merge on the second-category Colle di San Zeno (13.9km at 6.6%) after simply over 60km of racing, bringing the massive breakaway to a complete of fifty males.
Geschke, after all, was in there. He’d be joined within the transfer by a bunch of different notable names, together with Tobias Foss (Ineos Grenadiers), Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), Juan Pedro López (Lidl-Trek), Nairo Quintana (Movistar), stage 12 winner Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-QuickStep), Attila Valter (Visma-Lease A Bike), and Luke Plapp (Jayco-AlUla), amongst others.
Excessive of the Zeno, Geschke wouldn’t add the utmost of 18 factors to his KOM complete, as an alternative settling for eight in second place as Cristian Scaroni (Astana Qazaqstan) led the way in which for the large break.
The highway down the opposite aspect of the mountain introduced one other change within the race scenario as six males – Ballerini, Scaroni, Harrison Wooden (Cofidis), Tobias Bayer (Alpecin-Deceuninck), and VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè pair Giulio Pellizzarri and Alessandro Tonelli – break up off the entrance.
The sextet shortly constructed a lead reaching over a minute as they hit the lengthy valley highway heading to the Mortirolo, whereas the peloton – which held all the highest GC contenders – raced alongside at simply over 5 minutes down on the leaders.
Simply over 60km of slogging via the valley from Pisogne to Edolo lay between the riders and the bottom of the first-category Mortirolo (12.6km at 7.6%), with the climb the primary staging submit of the brutal first-category trio to finish the stage.
There’d be unhealthy luck for Alaphilippe within the second group, the Frenchman puncturing out of the transfer as he took a impartial service wheel earlier than chasing again on with three different dropped riders. The quartet made it again in good time and with loads of the valley remaining, prepared to assist the principle break restrict or minimize the hole to the smaller group out entrance.
After the rest of the frankly uneventful run-in to the foot of the Mortirolo, the race scenario remained largely unchanged, although the time gaps had been smaller. 45 seconds lay between the 2 breakaway teams, whereas the UAE Crew Emirates-led peloton rolled alongside at 4:30 down on the main group.
The early slopes of the climb noticed riders drop away from all three main teams on the highway as Ballerini, Wooden, and Bayer had been shortly shed by the leaders and sprinters fell away from the peloton on the cruel slopes.
In the direction of the highest of the climb, because the chase group closed to beneath 30 seconds on the leaders, Scaroni and Pellizzarri had been all that remained of the six-man lead transfer. The duo pushed on in the direction of the highest and added to their benefit, although additional again the assaults started to fly from the chase group.
Nicola Conci (Alpecin-Deceuninck) led the strikes, bridging throughout to his two countrymen 500 metres from the highest earlier than Scaroni led the way in which over the summit for 40 factors, which, when added to his 18 from earlier and 6 earlier than the stage, vaulted him proper into blue jersey rivalry.
The trio led the race on the summit some 20 seconds up on the fractured stays of the massive second group – which included Geschke, Quintana, Valter, and Michael Storer (Tudor) – and 4:40 up on the peloton.
By the point the riders got here to the tip of the 14km descent off the mountain, Storer and Quintana had bridged the hole to the leaders with the rest of the breakaway chasers not far behind to make it one massive – albeit now slimmed to 17 males – group up entrance.
López and Geschke had been additionally in there, as had been earlier stage winners Alaphilippe, Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers), and Pelayo Sánchez (Movistar), plus Alaphilippe’s teammate Mauri Vansevenant.
The group headed out on the 28km uphill drag to the ultimate two first-category climbs with 4:20 on the tremendously decreased peloton, which was nonetheless led by UAE Crew Emirates and Ineos Grenadiers.
The groups mixed to convey down the break’s benefit to three:50 on the 40km to go marker, a niche which slimmed down to three:20 because the riders hit 30km simply forward of the day’s ultimate two intermediate sprints after which the ultimate climbs.
The grand finale
Valter led the leaders – now right down to 10 males with Scaroni, López, Vansevenant, and Pellizzarri amongst these dropped – over the dash level at Le Motte. Davide Piganzoli (Polti-Kometa) led the way in which on the Intergiro at Isolaccia-Valdidentro, 24km out, earlier than the break began the Passo di Foscagno (15km at 6.4%) at 3:20 up.
With 22km to go, Georg Steinhauser (EF Schooling-EasyPost) struck the primary blow from the break, leaping away to shortly construct a 20-second lead. Narváez and Alaphilippe went backwards because of this, whereas Valter went solo within the chase behind the German attacker.
As Storer and Quintana moved throughout to Valter within the chase 10km from the highest of the mountain and 19km from the road, Steinhauser may rely a rising hole to these searching him down.
He’d construct his benefit to nearly a minute over these he’d left behind, with Quintana ultimately setting off alone as the rest of the chase coalesced behind.
It wasn’t lengthy earlier than the large strikes got here from the GC favourites group as race chief Pogačar, working out of teammates on the entrance, blasted off 14km from the end and 5km from the highest of the climb.
There’d be no reply from his rivals on the high of the standings, whereas up forward Quintana would quickly catch and cross Steinhauser for the lead.
Such is Pogačar’s dominance that he raced off to a minute’s lead very quickly in any respect, flying previous the break and searching down Quintana and Steinhauser into the ultimate 10km. Behind him, the likes of Thomas, Martínez, and O’Connor hung collectively within the chase, although Pogačar was making time metre by metre.
He’d crest the highest of the climb in second place, 40 seconds down on Quintana having already dispatched Steinhauser. Thomas and co, in the meantime, had been over three minutes down on the Colombian and already ceding minutes to the maglia rosa.
After a brief descent, the 4.7km 7.7% race to the end at Livigno received underway, with Quintana trying to carry off the flying Pogačar, even when he was staving off the inevitable.
With 3km to go, the Slovenian was inside 20 seconds of the only chief, with the GC group nonetheless at an additional three minutes again and no large strikes but coming.
That 20-second benefit would solely maintain up for yet one more kilometre, as Quintana’s hopes of including a fourth profession Giro stage win to his palmarès bit the mud. Pogačar swept previous with ease and would stay untroubled on his race up the steep ultimate incline to the end.
The likes of Thomas, Martínez, O’Connor and the rest of the GC males wouldn’t commerce blows as such, however somewhat the group would come aside beneath excessive strain as Ineos Grenadiers set the tempo with Thymen Arensman.
Ultimately, it was Martínez and Thomas who ended up inseparable on the line, coming residence at 2:51 down in fifth and sixth on the day, whereas O’Connor was better of the remainder alongside Einer Rubio (Movistar) at eight seconds additional again.
Nonetheless, the day – and sure the Giro as an entire now – was Pogačar’s, along with his GC lead now massively prolonged in simply 14km of labor.
Outcomes
Outcomes powered by FirstCycling
