Giro d'Italia -- Week 3

Stage 16, Ivrea, 238 Km: Beñat Intxausti (Movistar) won this stage as part of a bold 3-man attack with about 2 Km to go.  This gave Movistar their second stage win in a row.  Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) controlled all attacks from the GC contenders and, in the process, hammered Mauro Santambrogio (Vini Fantini) with an additional 2-minute deficit.  Pink jersey standings: Nibali, Cadel Evans (BMC) 1:26, and Rigoberto Uran (Sky) 2:46.

Stage 17, Vicenza, 214 Km: Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) won this stage by attacking near the summit of the only climb of the day (category 4) with 16 Km to go.  He powered through the survivors of the day's early breakaway group, and managed to outlast the charging pink jersey group by 19 seconds.  This gives Visconti two stage victories, and Movistar three in a row.  Glory Days!  No change in GC standings.

Stage 18, Polsa, 21 Km, Individual Time Trial: Nibali moved within sight of the final triumph with a commanding win in this uphill time trial, adding costly time to each of his challengers.  The weather started out fair for the early riders, but deteriorated badly at the end.  In spite of a driving rain, Nibali was so dominant that he nearly eclipsed his 3-minute man Cadel Evans.  Evans lost 2:36, and now clings to 2nd place by only 10" over Uran.  Two other riders finished so far behind Nibali that they were eliminated from the Giro for failing the time delay.  Nibali’s time was 44:29.  The time delay (approx 30%) was about 13 minutes.  The two riders (Beletti and Belkov) who finished more than 14 minutes slower than Nibali were forced from the race.  Snooze, you lose!

Stage 19, Val Martello, 139 Km: This stage was cancelled because of the snowy weather.  The first such cancellation since 1989!

Stage 20, Tre Cime di Lavaredo, 210 Km: This stage was adjusted to eliminate some of the high mountain passes, again because of the weather.  But the summit finish was retained.  Nibali broke free on the final climb in a snowy blizzard, icing all challengers.  Uran lost only 19", but Evans lost 1:30 and fell to third place behind Uran.  Evans claims his problem was mechanical (ice-jammed gears).  It’s always nice when you have a convenient and original excuse!

Stage 21, Brescia, 197 Km: For the GC boys, this was a ceremonial parade, with Nibali, Uran and Evans claiming the overall GC podium in that order.  But for the sprinters there was a lot at stake, and the sprint was hotly contested.  Cavendish proved his superiority once again, winning his 5th stage, and moving to the top spot for the points (sprinters’) jersey.  As a bonus, he also won the “Most Combative” jersey and the Azzuri a Italia prize.  This latter award is a cash bonus of over 5,000 Euro for the rider with the most stage podium points (4 for 1st, 2 for 2nd, 1 for 3rd).  Do you think Team Sky wishes they would have stroked his ego a little more, instead of letting him defect to Omega Pharma Quickstep?

So, what does the Giro tell us about the upcoming Tour de France?

First: That Cavendish is the sprinter to watch.  He will not only chase stage wins in the sprint finishes, but he will also challenge the intermediate sprints in order to win the green jersey.  His biggest rival will be Peter Sagan (Cannondale).  Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Sharp) will hope to win a stage or two, but I doubt he will break into the same league with Cavendish and Sagan.

Second: That Team Sky is still strong, but may have a new leader.  Brad Wiggins was at least ill, if not just plain outclassed by Nibali.  Meanwhile Chris Froome has improved on his top form from 2012.  News source The Guardian reports that Team Sky has declared Froome the leader for the Tour de France.  Wiggins will race in June, and could be on the roster for the July Tour de France, but he will not be the designated leader, barring unforeseen circumstances.  He may not even be number two in the pecking order, given how well Rigoberto Uran and Sergio Luis Henao are riding.

Third: Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) would be a serious contender for the Tour’s yellow jersey – if he even is on Astana’s roster!  That’s right.  The BBC reported that Nibali is likely to skip the Tour de France in order to prepare for the World Championships (road race) later in the season.  Personally, I think that would be a shame.  He was in the GC mix last year, and both his and his team’s performance in the Giro suggest he might well win it all in this year’s Tour de France.  We’ll have to wait and see when the rosters are posted in a couple of weeks.  On May 28, 2013, CyclingNews reported that Nibali confirms that he will not ride the Tour de France in 2013.  He does, however, plan to "target the yellow jersey" in 2014.

Fourth: Cadel Evans may have been sandbagging in the Giro.  Not that coming in third in a race as brutal as this year’s Giro is anything to be ashamed of.  But he publicly said before the race started that he was riding the Giro as a warm-up for the TDF.  So, if he can do as well as he did when winning was not a priority, how well can he do in more civilized conditions when it really matters to him?  Do not count him out just because he did not seriously challenge Nibali in the Giro.

Finally: A team that impressed me, and could make some stage-by-stage noises in the Tour de France is Movistar from Spain.  Beñat Intxausti, Giovanni Visconti and Alex Dowsett won four Giro stages between them, with several other notable performances along the way.  And don’t you just love to pronounce those Basque names like “Intxausti”?

The French and Italian Alps still have lots of snow in May, as evidenced by this shot of Nan Kennard nearing the top of l'Alpe d'Huez in mid-May, 2011.  If I could Photoshop a raging blizzard into this picture, you would have a good idea of the conditions in the 2013 Giro d'Italia.  (Don't tell Bradley Wiggins about global warming!)