Cafe Roubaix

2015 Giro d’Italia – Stage 10 Preview

What happened on stage 9

Paolo Tiralongo took his third victory in the Giro d’Italia, this time from a breakaway, becoming the oldest ever cyclist to win a stage at the race (37 years and 313 days). Once again, Rigoberto Uran lost time when Fabio Aru attacked, only Alberto Contador and Richie Porte being capable of responding. In the last 250 meters, Aru launched a sprint and gaped the Spaniard for one second. Contador remained in the pink jersey, with a three-second advantage over Aru.

What comes now

On Thursday, the bunch will line-up in Civitanova Marche, ready for a 200-km long stage which finishes in Forli, the town of Ercole Baldini, one of the finest time trialist ever seen, winner of the Giro d’Italia and the World Championships in 1958. The day is entirely flat and covers almost the whole of the Adriatica coastal road. The route unfolds along wide and largely straight roads for 100 kilometers, with just a brief detour to climb up Montedi Gabicce from the Pesaro slope. The following 60 kilometers run straight along the ss. 9 Via Emilia, through Santarcangelo di Romagna, Cesena and Forlimpopoli, leading to the finish in Forli.

The last kilometers past Forlimpopoli run along straight roads, with roundabouts and traffic dividers being the main obstacles typically found in urban areas. Approximately two kilometers before the finish, there is a 1,500-m setts paved sector, with a bend 1,100 meters from the finish, in Piazza Saffi, and a bottle neck 800 meters from the finish. The route features one last bend 500 meters before the end of the stage. The home straight is on level, 7-m wide asphalt road.

The weather will be excellent, with warm temperatures, but there’s still a risk of crosswinds. Giving how aggressive the GC teams were in the first week, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them coming at the front yet again, trying to create some damages and distance their rivals. Otherwise, this is going to be a day for the sprinters, and the technical finale should play into the advantage of Sacha Modolo, a rider who loves it when things become messy in the last kilometer. Another strong contender will be André Greipel, who’s keen to take the red jersey back from the shoulders of Elia Viviani. Of course, Sky’s sprinter will also feature there, as will Matteo Pelucchi and Giacomo Nizzolo, who is still in the hunt for his first Grand Tour victory.

Forli will host a Giro d’Italia finish for the ninth time, first visit here taking place in 1925, when Costante Girardengo was victorious. More recently, in 2006, Robbie McEwen was first – ahead of Olaf Pollack and Tomas Vaitkus – and became the only non-European cyclist to win in the capital of the Forli-Cesena province.