Once again this week we had plenty of fun, and enjoyed some of the best emotions this sport has to offer. From the touching return to success of Julian Alaphilippe and Filippo Ganna to the sheer domination of King Tadej Pogačar, via the powerful sprints of Jonathan Milan and the summit-finish victory of Valentin Paret-Peintre, one year after his brother Aurelién. We can already draw quite a few conclusions but, as we all know too well, the last week of the Giro d’Italia are perhaps the 6 most unpredictable days in the calendar. It will be a battle to the last kilometre.
Maglia Rosa
Compared to a week ago, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) has almost tripled his advantage in the general classification over the second placed rider, who is currently Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers). 6’41” is the widest gap between first and second, on stage 15, since 1954. A clear, fierce domination, which the Slovenian will more than likely try to further magnify in this final week. With such an advantage, even a bad day could be managed without too many worries. Thus, the most important thing for Tadej will be to stay out of trouble.
The fight for the podium, on the other hand, is still wide open, with Thomas and Daniel Martinez (Bora-hansgrohe) seeming to be the biggest candidates to fill the last two steps of the podium. The gaps between the two, so far, have been dictated by time trials and time bonuses, while on the climbs it has been a good head-to-head. The second position will be played out on the details, but beware of underestimating the riders slightly further back in the standings. With such an advantage in the GC, Pogačar can afford to let even Top 10 riders break away without worrying too much, meaning it will be up to Thomas and Martinez to keep their opponents under control.
Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) is not far behind the two, has a team in a state of grace on his side and will try everything to make it onto the final podium. Let’s also keep an eye on Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich PostNL) and Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers), who seem to be on the rise, as well as Einer Rubio (Movistar) and Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious), who are unlikely to settle for their current position in the general classification.
