It was a hard day in the race, as expect the sprinters were all dropped and the battle for the stage was between the GC riders and some elusive puncheurs that were in the front group after the short and explosive climbs, Diego Ulissi took his second stage win after beating João Almeida and Patrick Konrad in the final sprint. There were some attacks in the final climb by Ulissi, Hart and Guerreiro which slimmed down the group, and with Deceuninck's work no-one was able to regain terrain on the group. Almeida slightly extended his lead due to bonus seconds but otherwise the GC remains the same between the main men.
Positive: Deceuninck looked clearly the strongest team today again, the depth is something that's going to be quite good for Almeida's GC ambitions as the team has looked increasingly in control, he and Konrad gained some seconds on the competition, and UAE took an important win after some days of sketchy tactics.
Negative: Bora worked a whole lot again on a day that wasn't very suited for Sagan. One can argue Konrad/Majka attack or win was in the cards which it was, but it just felt like a mistake that was predicted to happen.
The Route
In 2015 Alberto Contador had an essencial day in Valdobbiadene in order to win his final Grand Tour. It's not as important this year it's a much shorter day, but the 34 kilometer individual challenge will be a very important day. It isn't a flat one though it's quite hilly and includes the short but very steep Muro Di Ca' Del Poggio very early on.
It's a climb not yet often used in the Giro in essential points, but it's increasinly gaining a lot of popularity and has a bigger role this year, it's a brutal ramp essentially, but no-one should go into the limit as they still have the majority of time-trial to go.
There's a slightly descending section into back in flat and and there's a slight ascent into Guia there in the end, 2.2Km at 5.4%, it's meaningful in such a time-trial, following there's a fast descent into Valdobbiadene where a short ramp will take the riders into the finish.
The Weather
The temperatures remain coldish but there shouldn't be any obstacle for tomorrow, weak wind and no rain on the forecast.
The Favourites
This is a time-trial that can see some surprises. It's far from flat and it resembles slightly the 2019 TDF Pau TT where the rolling nature of the course led to unexpected results, here it's not as rolling but there are two climbs to it and a bit of descending meaning the efforts won't be as constant, not ideal for the specialists and the climbs may throw some out of winning contention also because it can be a rhythm breaker.
The man to beat though should be Filippo Ganna, he dominated the opening on and although he would benefit from a flatter course, his massive engine and clear aerodynamical improvement since joining Ineos have put him in this position. Dennis and Castroviejo too can be good options for tomorrow. On the field of the pure time-trialists riders to consider should be Victor Campenaerts, unlucky with a crash in the opening time-trial, Mikkel Bjerg who has looked really good climbing and has a natural massive quality in the discipline, Israel duo who's succeeded already in the race Alex Dowsett and Matthias Brandle, CCC duo Josef Cerny and Kamil Gradek, Chad Haga and Jan Tratnik.
On the more rouleur side that can surprise there's riders like Thomas de Gendt or Mikkel Honoré, two names that are in great form, there are some more riders that would fit in this list but again they will depend on luck and a great day to be there.
As for the GC contenders there are some serious candidates, these guys find here a very important day, the most important so far, and I don't doubt some will be flying and for sure one of them will infiltrate the stage podium. Pink jersey for a start João Almeida is having the ride of his life so far, and despite it being his Grand Tour debut he's riding very composed, as had a very strong team around him so far and the time-trialing is somewhere where he usually stands out. Wilco Kelderman and Pello Bilbao who follow right after are also good time-trialists from whom I expect some strong rides, Brandon McNulty is another rider who could take advantage and climb up the GC tomorrow.
Prediction Time
⭐ Dennis, de Gendt, Honoré, Bilbao, McNulty, Cerny
Going with a third Ganna win for tomorrow. Even though the route isn't as suiting as the opening day he is in terrific form and is dialed with his bike, I think he wins enough on all the flat parts of the course to hold on any possible flying GC rider.
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