Giro d'Italy 2014

Automatically, 18 world tour teams received invitations to the race. Also a special invitation was received by the Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela team, which became the best according to the results of the Italian races of 2013. The remaining three tickets were provided by the Italian Bardiani-CSF and Yellow Fluo , as well as the Colombian team Colombia .

In total, 198 riders from 22 teams went to the start:

The race starts on Friday May 9th in Belfast , the capital of Northern Ireland , with the team time trial. In the third stage, the riders will finish in the capital of Ireland, Dublin . This will be followed by a flight to the south of Italy to Puglia , because of which riders will be given an additional day off on May 12 ^[2] .

From Puglia, through Basilicata , the race route will turn north through the regions of Campania , Lazio , Umbria and Marche with a finish to Mount Montecopiolo at the 8th stage to Emilia Romagna , where after the second day of rest it will move west through Liguria to Piedmont . In Piedmont, the race route will continue east through Lombardy , Trentino-Alto Adige and Venice to the finish line in Friuli-Venezia Giulia , while individual riders are expected to have 46.4 km of flat cuts at the 12th stage and the first alpine stages in the Alps with climbs to Oropa and Montecampion at the 14th and 15th stages.

The third day of rest is provided for May 26 . The second individual cutting of 26.8 km in the Monte Grappa mountain will take place at the 19th stage. At the 20th stage, riders will have to conquer the climbs to Passo del Pura , Sella Razzo and the legendary Zoncolan . The race will end with a sprint stage with a finish in Trieste . ^[3] .

The race route consists of 21 stages with a total length of 3449.9 km (164.3 km per stage on average) and contains ^[4] :

• 1 command cut
• 2 individual cuts
• 8 sprint stages
• 1 hilly stage
• 4 hilly stages with climbing finishes
• 5 mountain stages with climbing finishes

Stage 1

The team race with a separate start for a while was won by the vice world champions in this kind of program - the riders of the Australian team Orica GreenEDGE . The first finish line crossed the Canadian veteran Svein Taft , who celebrated the 37th anniversary on the day of the stage. The catastrophe ended with the performance of one of the favorites of the stage - the American team Garmin – Sharp . During the race, the wheel of one of the riders fell onto a sewer manhole that was wet from rain, which provoked a blockage of 5 team members. As a result, this team lost to the winners for more than three minutes, and one of its leaders, Irishman Daniel Martin , broke his collarbone in the fall and left the race at the first stage. The Spaniard Coldo Fernandez came down with a similar injury.

Stage 2

The second stage was a classic scenario. The main sprint teams controlled the gap of four without any problems, and the strongest sprinters played the victory in the final. The victory was won by the German Marcel Kittel , who entered the club of bicycle racers having victories at the stages of all three Grand Tours . The pink jersey went from Taffet to the Orica GreenEDGE sprinter, Michael Matthews .

Stage 3

The third stage was a copy of the previous stage. On the flat terrain, the main group calmly controlled the gap, and in the final acceleration Kittel again became the strongest, having won on the day of his 26th birthday.

Stage 4

Marcel Kittel, because of his illness, did not go to the start of the first stage in Italy. In his absence, the ex-champion of France Nasser Buhanni became the strongest in sprint acceleration. Despite 49th place on the stage, Michael Matthews retained the leader's pink jersey.

Stage 5

The first hilly stage culminated in a massive sprint to the finish hill despite numerous scoring attempts. In the decisive acceleration, the strongest was the Italian Diego Ulissi , who won a second victory on the Giro in his career. In a second behind him was a large group of riders, which included all the favorites in the struggle for the final victory. Sprint from this group was won by ex-world champion Cadel Evans , ahead of Colombian debutant Julian Arredondo .

Stage 6

The results of the sixth stage were decisively influenced by the massive blockage that occurred ten and a half kilometers to the finish line. Because of him, a leadership group of 8 riders was formed, which included one of the favorites of the overall standings Cadel Evans and the owner of the pink shirt Michael Matthews . At the finish, Matthews took advantage of a sharper finish acceleration and won the stage. 49 seconds the winners lost the group in which there were most applicants for a common victory - Nairo Quintana , Domenico Pozzovo , Rigoberto Uranus and others. More than 15 minutes at the stage, Nicholas Roch lost, over 18 - Julian Arredondo . Team Katusha leader Joachim Rodriguez lost more than seven minutes. After the finish, he had a rib fracture and the Spaniard completed the race ahead of schedule.

Stage 7

The victory at the next sprint stage was again won by the French athlete Nasser Buhanni , who in the final acceleration by half a wheel ahead of the Italian sprinter Giacomo Nizzolo . The victory helped Buhanni to become the leader in the points classification.

Stage 8

The main actions at the eighth stage unfolded while passing the top of the first category of Cippo di Carpegna. Julian Arredondo and Stefano Pirazzi attacked her from an early break, and closer to the top, the Colombian went into a solo break. Three kilometers to the finish line he was picked up by the Frenchman Pierre Rolland , who attacked from the main group, who was able to prolide to the last kilometer. But after the finish acceleration of the riders from the main group, Rolland did not find the strength to support the attack and finished the race on the 15th. And the second victory in the Giro was won by Diego Ulissi , who bypassed the final spurt of the Croatian Robert Kisherlowski . The leader of the overall standings with a minute advantage was Cadel Evans . Former race leader Michael Matthews, along with the rest of the sprinters, lost to the winner for more than 34 minutes.

Stage 9

The victory at the ninth stage was played by two fugitives, representing an early breakaway. In the finish fight, accompanied by a surprise, the Dutchman Peter Wening beat the Italian David Malacarne . In the group of favorites, Domenico Pozzovivo was the most active, attacking a few kilometers before the finish line and half a minute ahead of the group of main applicants for the pink T-shirt, in which was also the overall standings leader Cadel Evans.

Stage 10

10 kilometers before the finish of the lowland stage, the group overtook the separation of the day, which consisted of two Italians - Marco Bandier and Andrea Fedi . Despite the blockage on the last kilometer, all the strongest sprinters were able to avoid it. In the final acceleration, the strongest third time in this Giro was Nasser Buhanni , again bypassing Giacomo Nizzolo .

Stage 11

Three-time world champion in the race against time, Australian Michael Rogers became a triumph of the rugged stage. He attacked on the descent from the top of the second category and brought his advantage to 40 seconds. The peloton counterattack only reduced the gap to ten seconds. The sprint from the group in which all the strongest racers were located was won by German Simon Geschke .

Stage 12

Colombian rider Omega Pharma-Quick Step Rigoberto Uranus won the rough cut and became the leader of the overall standings. At the same time, Uranus became the first Colombian in history to try on a pink T-shirt. 1:17 Uranu lost two-stage triumphant Jiro Diego Ulissi . One and a half minutes the winner was lost to Cadel Evans , next to him was the owner of a white T-shirt - Rafal Mike . Domenico Potstsivivo lost 2:09 and became the ninth, Nairo Quintana lagged at 2:41 in the thirteenth position, Astana Pro Team captain Fabio Aru lost three minutes. In the overall standings, the advantage of Uranus over Evans was 37 seconds, over Mike - 1:52, over Pozzovivo - 2:32, and over Kintana - three and a half minutes.

Stage 13

Adverse weather conditions (rain with snow and heavy wind) made it difficult for the group to chase riders from the gap. As a result, the peloton did not have a few hundred meters to catch up with the three fugitives, who had come off the gap in the final 15 kilometers. The strongest in the sprint from the gap was the representative of Bardiani-CSF Marco Canola . The finish of the group, which took place 11 seconds after the finish of the stage, was traditionally won by Nasser Buhani, who beat his main rival in this Giro Giacomo Nizzolo.

Stage 14

The second stage in a row ended in victory from the separation of the rider of the Bardiani-CSF team. This time the strongest was Enrico Battaglion , who walked to the finish line of his fellow travelers by the margin of Dario Cataldo and Harlinson Pantano . The favorites of the overall standings preferred not to enter the struggle for the stage, but to confine themselves to the struggle with each other. The strongest in this fight was the last year’s vice champion of the Tour de France Nairo Quintana , who was able to break away from his pursuers with Domenico Pozzovivo , and on the last kilometer he left the Italian. 20 seconds, Kintane lost the ex-leader of the overall standings, Cadel Evans , a few seconds later finished Rigoberto Uran , who, despite an inconclusive performance, was able to protect the pink jersey and minimize his loss to other competitors.

Stage 15

Captain Astana Pro Team Fabio Aru was the first to conquer the summit of Mount Montecampione . Success brought him a solo attack three kilometers before the finish line. Initially, the attack was supported by the leader of the race, Rigoberto Uranus , but he soon fell behind the Italian and eventually lost to him 42 seconds. And the closest pursuers to Aru were the Colombians Fabio Duarte and Nairo Quintana , as well as the Frenchman Pierre Rolland , who lost 22 seconds to the Italian. More than a minute Aru lost Cadel Evans and Domenico Potstsivo . Uranus retained the lead in the overall standings before the last day of rest, having increased its advantage over Evans to one minute.

Stage 16

The royal mountain stage, which took place along the legendary mountains of Gavia and Stelvio, convincingly won the main pre-launch favorite Giro - Colombian Nairo Quintana . On the descent from the highest mountain of this Giro, he attacked Passo Stelvio (the prize of Cima Coppi was won by Dario Cataldo ). His attack was supported by Pierre Rolland , Ryder Heshedal and Quintana's assistant Gorka Isagirre . At the same time, some riders mistakenly considered ^[5] that the descent from Stelvio would be neutralized and did not actively pursue the fugitives. At the foot of the decisive ascent, the advantage of the fugitives was about two minutes, and on the ascent to Val Martello Quintana almost single-handedly increased his advantage to three minutes. In the middle of the ascent, Rolland fell behind the leaders, and at the last kilometer of the pace of Quintana, Cheshedal also could not stand it, losing 8 seconds to the winner. The best of the group of pursuers - Wilko Kelderman lost 3:32, next to him were Finding Pozzovivo and Aru . 4:11 Quintane lost compatriot Rigoberto Uranus , almost five minutes - Cadel Evans . In the overall standings, Quintana not only won the backlog at 2:40 from Uranus, but also seized the lead in the overall standings with an advantage over his compatriot at 1:41.

Stage 17

The transit plain 17th stage ended with a separation victory. Thanks to a solo attack a kilometer before the finish, his first victory at the Giro was won by the mountain king of last year's race - Italian Stefano Pirazzi . None of his four companions could stay on his wheel. The general group did not actively pursue the gap, preparing for future mountain starts, and lost to the winner for more than 15 minutes, which however did not lead to significant rearrangements in the overall standings.

Stage 18

The owner of the blue jersey of the mountain king Julian Arredondo excelled in the first of three crucial stages. He launched a solo attack 4.5 km to the finish line, reached the previously attacking Franco Pelidzotti and won a solo victory. The closest pursuer of Arredondo was his compatriot Fabio Duarte , 17 seconds behind. The intra-Colombian confrontation continued in the struggle for a pink T-shirt between Kintana and Uranus, however, they and their main competitors finished in a compact group, which had little effect on the general classification. The main loser was the ex-leader Cadel Evans , отставший от группы фаворитов в середине решающего подъёма и проигравший им около полутора минут, что отбросило его с третьего на девятое место в общем зачёте. На промежуточное третье место поднялся Пьер Роллан из Team Europcar .

19-й этап

Лидер общего зачёта Наиро Кинтана уверенно первенствовал на горной разделке, проходившей по склонам горы Монте Граппа. Кинтана преодолел 19,3 км подъёма за 55:03 со средней скоростью 20,926 км/ч и показал итоговое время 1:05:37. Единственным конкурентоспособным соперником колумбийца стал молодой итальянец Фабио Ару из Astana Pro Team , проигравший ему 17 секунд. Этот результат позволил Ару подняться на третье место в общем зачёте, причём оказаться в непосредственной близости от Ригоберто Урана , который завершил этап третьим, но с отставанием от Кинтаны почти в полторы минуты. Этот результат привёл к тому, что разрыв в общем зачёте между двумя колумбийцами увеличился почти в два раза и перед решающим этапом составил 3:07.

20-й этап

Победу на легендарной вершине Дзонколан одержал австралийский спортсмен Майкл Роджерс , ставший сильнейшим в раннем отрыве. Его ближайшими преследователями стали итальянцы Франко Пелидзотти и Франческо Мануэль Бонджорно , проигравшие австралийцу 38 и 49 секунд соответственно. Большинство лидеров общего зачёта провели консервативную оборонительную гонку почти без атак. Сильнейшими из основной группы стали два колумбийца Кинтана и Уран, финишировавшие 16-м и 17-м с четырёхминутным отставанием. 5 минут Роджерсу проиграла группа Фабио Ару , который защитил своё третье место в общем зачёте.

21-й этап

Традиционный этап дружбы завершился традиционным спринтом среди оставшихся в гонке спринтеров. Победу одержал словенский спринтер Лука Мезгец , для которого этот успех стал первым на Гранд Турах . Вторым традиционно на этой Джиро стал итальянский спринтер Джакомо Ниццоло . Насер Буханни стал четвёртым, но уверенно победил в очковой классификации, завоевав красную майку. В генеральной классификации изменений не было — Наиро Кинтана финишировал в общей группе и выиграл Джиро д'Италия.

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