The Giro Chronicles: stages 4-10 unpacked
Late to the party, inconsistent and a bit all over the place [title of my autobiography]
A Grand Tour never lets up. Even on a rest day, while those contained inside the race bubble are resting, recovering and recharging, those outside of it must catch up on all the things they’ve put off, saving them for rest day.
The first of two days off since I last wrote about this race was actually a ‘travel day’ – nothing hugely restful about getting up at stupid o’clock to catch a flight, even if it is a short one – gave way to the race’s arrival in Italy. Now, writing this post, while stage 10 unfolds on my second laptop screen next to me, I’m reminded that there really isn’t time to hang about, even when you’re composing paragraphs purely for the joy of capturing the race, and because you’d feel like a spare part if you didn’t write something. I started writing this post four days ago but another rest day has elapsed since then so I’m late… my timekeeping as slack as the weary domestique taking on today’s individual time trial – but I hope you’ll find some value in bringing yourself up to speed with my meandering observations, as we begin week 2 – otherwise known as, the beginning of the second half of the race.
Let’s rewind to stage 4, as I continued to juggle the demands of normal life with the full immersion of keeping up with a Grand Tour.
—Katy
Stages 4-5: Fast men, slow days
Italy loves its Giro, and we love how they love it. It’s beautiful, resplendent and unapologetically pink. It’s noisy and vibrant and it takes up space – crowds and bunting and balloons and banners – a stark contrast to the underwhelmed response to the race in Albania, where cycling isn’t an institution, and May isn’t a month when everything comes to a standstill, at least for the day the race passes through your town.
Mads Pedersen began the day in pink once again, and the skies were almost as azzurra as the KOM jersey itself, as we admired the stunning backdrop of the race’s first foray into its homeland, complete with stone huts or ‘trulli’ that characterised the start town of Alberobello, a UNESCO World Heritage site and a pure treat for the eyes (not to mention a gift for the photographers and social media managers).
After that though, it all fell a bit flat. With the least altitude metres of any stage this year, at 800m, a more nailed-on sprint finish you could not hope to find, so everyone decided it wasn’t worth the bother and as a result there was a single breakaway rider – Francisco Muñoz of Team Polti VisitMalta. The poor guy laboured alone all day, and I engaged in a spot of holiday planning as the beautiful coastline of Italy captured the attention of the helicopter camera operator, and forgot about the racing for a bit.
An innocuous crash, which led to a completely unnecessary broken collarbone for Nicolas Zukowsky of Q36.5, was the only thing out of the ordinary that happened all afternoon, so I caught up on the French cup races I’d been unable to watch in full (they were absolute bangers), before switching over to the first day of racing in Dunkirk, suffering through the first stressful sprint finale of the day - it would not be the last.
Back to the Giro, and I’ll speed to the finish, as we’re five eight days on now, and this was supposed to be a summary. A first lap of the finishing circuit raised the stress levels in the bunch as they encountered a selection of road furniture and bottlenecks for the first time – and the stress took its toll on the second lap as there was a late crash that sadly included the day’s valiant breakaway rider, Muñoz, along with Pedersen’s designated lead-out for the day, Søren Kragh. It seemed enough to rock the great Dane, or at least, it was the only time he came close to winning but didn’t manage it. Instead, a Dutch sweep of the podium, and a first Grand Tour stage victory for young Casper van Uden of Picnic PostNL, and a lifeline in the World Tour rankings as they hit back at the relentless drive of Astana.
The next day, stage 5 was as straightforward as they come at the Giro. A three-man breakaway composed entirely of Italian riders, held on a relatively tight leash by Lidl-Trek, and a clean sweep by Mads Pedersen, who won both intermediate sprints, and the stage – his third victory at a race he is completely dominating.
Stages 6-7 – Transitions, neutralisations, and departures
The mornings are spent immersing myself in the Never Strays Far podcast – prior to stage 6, there was discussion on recent earthquakes, local to the region where the race was headed, and Jacopo Guarnieri spoke at length and with affection on his former teammate Arnaud Démare, confirming my suspicions that he’s a thoroughly lovely individual. It was on the pod that I first heard the news that the Tour de France peloton would tackle the Montmartre climb of Paris Olympics fame (and of, well, being Montmartre fame) and there was consternation over the yellow card system that was being operated rather too officiously by the UCI, resulting in a number of riders with the sword of Damocles hanging over them, vis-à-vis their future in the race (one more strike, and they’re out – seemingly for quite innocuous reasons, mostly). It’s an enjoyable and informative way to start my Giro day - usually alongside my daily dog walk.
With a long, long stage ahead – the longest of the race, in fact, at 227km – it was a great relief to finally enjoy some breakaway action, and there were rolling attacks with plenty of riders interested in getting away. 30km of them in fact, with INEOS feisty, and in particular Josh Tarling, but the peloton weren’t keen on letting them get very far, with Visma in particular on the hunt, in support of Olav Kooij.
It came back together and a new pairing escaped – Taco van der Hoorn (of course, he had to have another go), plus Groupama-FDJ’s Enzo Paleni – a rider who came close to victory in a breakaway in 2024. With just two, and almost 200km to cover, it would be a tall order. (Here’s an absolutely brilliant moment of Taco the smiling assassin, with Paleni and Lorenzo Fortunato, who came along for the ride - ie the KOM points - before leaving them to it). (Please forgive all of my terrible screenshots - blame Warner Brothers Discovery).
The dry conditions which the bunch had enjoyed to that point gave way to the traditional Italian spring rain, and it was a procession of rain jacket donning after that, with the peloton taking it easy on some slick surfaces. Kudos to Red Bull for their rain jackets which actually say Red Bull on them – a big improvement on the ‘plain black rain jacket’ that the rest of the peloton sport, and it meant it was even easier to spot Primož giving his customary smile and wave to the camera, even despite the rubbish weather. What a guy.
It was drudgery after that. With the breakaway’s gap reduced to 2:15 with 130km still to go, you had to feel sorry for the poor guys out front. Not to mention the broadcasters. We were treated to five minutes of slow-motion replays of the peloton, while the commentary team were reduced to almost Alan Partridge levels of observation, as one observed: ‘That’s a well-lit tunnel.’ (‘It is a well-lit tunnel,’ came the appreciative reply).
But sometimes in cycling when a day seems straightforward, perhaps even dull, chaos is just around the corner. And so it proved, as a wet, slippery road caused a chaotic crash, with many riders brought down.
I won’t go into great detail as it was days ago now but the race was neutralised as several riders were assessed and treated, and sadly Jai Hindley departed the race. There was a mass conflab as riders and race organisers congregated in the middle of the road to try and decide what to do, and seemed to be at an impasse for some time, as Primož Roglič spoke on behalf of the riders as one of the designated patrons of the bunch. In the end, the decision was sensible – the GC and points battles were effectively neutralised, leaving only the stage win on the table, for those who wished to contest it.
One man who opted out was Mads Pedersen, presumably deciding that it just wasn’t worth the risk – his goal to make it to Rome in ciclamino had to be prioritised, over the chance of another stage victory. The upshot of this symbolic white flag was twofold: first, the battle for the stage was ON - with the favourite out of the running, it was anybody’s race. The second was that the hapless breakaway duo were given a reprieve – with just 50km to race, and around 50 seconds lead, they held firm as behind them, the peloton were disorganised in the chase as they tried to figure out how to unite in order to then take one another down. Closer and closer van der Hoorn and Paleni drew to possible success in Napoli, until…. protesters held them up, kyboshing their efforts, and almost causing serious injury to them both – not the way to make your point, however noble said point might be.
The end was as chaotic as could have been expected for a day where all rules were broken and all bets were off. With sprint lead-outs all over the place, Van Aert launched too early, lost Olav Kooij, and in the end, Kaden Groves did it by himself, to become the third sprint victor at the race.
Stage 7 was finally a day for some climbing. It’s hard sometimes, especially with the Giro, to be patient and wait for the GC battle to come to life – we are so used to seeing everything explode on day 1 at the Tour, and it’s never really not a GC day at La Vuelta with the endless ups and downs (though it’s not always the most stable overall battle). The Giro is renowned for its backloading, and this year without the incorrigible scamp Pogačar to take it upon himself to bring the whole thing to life within about 13 seconds of flag drop on stage 1, the GC has simmered in the background, existing ephemerally, no more than a handful of seconds accrued on a short time trial and a modest collection of Red Bull bonifications.
Stage 7 didn’t so much light up the GC battle as gently flap in the direction of its the budding flame, but it was enough to turn things around, and shift power into the hands of those who pretended to the pink throne.
It wasn’t a day for the French, though. Following a loss of concentration on one of the climbs, both David Gaudu and Romain Bardet hit the deck, as did both the GC hopes of Groupama-FDJ and the romantic notions of fans of Bardet that they may see one last Grand Tour stage victory for their hero. In the end, Bardet appeared to be battered but not too bruised by the crash, but with blood pouring from his hand, Gaudu looked in bad shape. Let the record show, it’s the third hand injury the Breton rider has suffered in the past year, and he must have been feeling a sinking sense of déjà vu as he visited the doctors car for temporary bandaging, before his team put in a titanic team time trial effort to bring him back to the group.
As they headed onto the final climb, Pedersen dropped away, waving goodbye to the pink jersey. Afonso Eulalio was noticeable, setting a lightning fast tempo for Bahrain Victorious who must have had supreme confidence in Antonio Tiberi, but as the climb proceeded onto the toughest gradients of its upper reaches it was Giulio Ciccone who lit the blue touch paper and suddenly, the group was reduced to just a handful of contenders. Though Roglič was among them, he was slow to react to the attack of Juan Ayuso, and the UAE Team Emirates leader powered to his first stage victory at the Giro, making a clear statement to his rivals on the first summit finish of the race.
Once again, despite not winning the stage, Primož Roglič found himself in the maglia rosa at the end of the day, setting up an interesting dynamic ahead of the stages to come.
As for Gaudu, he made it back to the GC group but lost touch on the final steep part of the climb – he received seven stitches in his hand after the race, and it must be said that he showed incredible grit to dig in and keep himself in contention. An answer to his critics, for the moment, and a brilliant team effort from his Groupama-FDJ teammates.
Stages 8 and 9 – The race ignites
Grand Tours were ever thus.
Days of wondering ‘when will someone do something?’ (insert ‘poking it with a stick’ meme) giving way to a stage (or two) which explodes the race, turning everything we thought we knew on its head, and leaving us picking our jaws off the floor.
Stage 8 was good. It gave us the mad breakaway battle we were all dying to see. The reason why a broadcast from flag drop is a gift. All in all, the breakaway formation phase of stage 8 took 90 kilometres to resolve, and moved through a series of phases, as the profile of the day shifted from ‘uphill’ to ‘massive category 1 climb’ and the type of riders attacking changed to match.
It was a throwback breakaway for a while as the climb began, with Wilco Kelderman, Romain Bardet, Nairo Quintana and Louis Meintjes forming an old-school climbing quartet for a while, but with relentless attacks and a lack of cooperation as groups came together and split in different formations once again, it was only Kelderman who could hang on to the lead group which finally established itself, driven by his teammate Dylan van Baarle. As they headed onto the next climb with 50km to go, it was van Baarle who prevailed, with Diego Ulissi, Luke Plapp and Igor Arrieta for company.
Look, I’m not going to delve into specifics here, mainly because I didn’t catch them all, as I was skipping frantically through the broadcast trying to keep up while doing weekend family things, but safe to say, when Luke Plapp went, I noticed. Because when Plapp goes, he really goes. The man they call Plappy struck out solo and there was no catching him. He won his first Grand Tour stage, and became the second Australian to win a stage at this year’s race. Bosh.
There was plenty of chat about the jersey being ‘given away’ by Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, and with the bunch being controlled, and the KOM leader Lorenzo Fortunato looking the most likely candidate, it was something of a surprise to discover that it was his teammate Ulissi who took pink at the end of the day, for the first time in his career. At 35, Ulissi became the first Italian man to wear the jersey for around four years, and the first for Astana since Vincenzo Nibali, and with Fortunato second on GC, it proved to be another amazing day for Astana who took another big step forward in their hunt for points. Ulissi was understandably emotional as he donned the auspicious leader’s jersey, with an appointment in his home region of Tuscany to display it the very next day.
Stage 9. The mad, white dust-covered fulcrum on which the race’s future would tip.
It was always going to be a stage of upsets. The ‘Strade Bianche’ stage, not just nominally but literally, using some of the same stretches of white roads usually featured on the spring classic, and even finishing with the steep punchy climb of the Via Santa Caterina, up to the Piazzo del Campo. It would be a whole different prospect with eight days of racing in the legs and plenty more to go, and the stakes much higher than a position in a one-day race.
Should surfaces beyond plain tarmac feature in Grand Tours? The argument will rage for as long as Grand Tours continue, but there’s no denying that despite moments of intrigue and some great finishes, a Giro d’Italia that had thus far been lukewarm, caught fire on stage 9.
With the final 70km of the race featuring over 30km of white roads, there was every opportunity for the race to blow up, and that’s exactly what happened. Lidl-Trek’s very own fire-starter Mads Pedersen once again took centre stage as the racing kicked off, an agent of chaos this time in support of his leader Ciccone, and his acceleration shredded the bunch, with GC riders all across the road. With Q36.5 chasing the break on behalf of Tom Pidcock, it was clear that every team had a different goal, from a stage win, to gaining time on GC, to simply staying upright and making it to the finish line unscathed. And of course, on gravel that’s easier said than done. Mechanicals and crashes began to impact various riders and teams, with the most significant crash bringing down both Pidcock and Roglič among others, and changing the shape of the stage, and the overall battle for the Giro, entirely. McNulty was worst off, his leader Ayuso was able to recover and continue ahead of Roglič, but one UAE rider had made it through the chaos and was away and clear with a dogged band of attackers – Isaac Del Toro.
From there it was frenetic to the finish. To add insult to injury, Roglič suffered a puncture and was forced to wait for his team car, while up front, Egan Bernal made the most of his opportunity to accrue time on a surface where he and his INEOS teammates have proven their abilities in the past – namely in the 2021 edition where he went on to win. With Brandon Rivera in tow, (or rather, the other way around), Bernal had just Del Toro and Van Aert for company as they seized their chance to escape from the rest. Lidl-Trek weren’t done, Mathias Vacek and Giulio Ciccone bridging to the front group only to see Del Toro kick away, leaving Bernal blowing up on the climb in his dust, and only Van Aert able to claw his way back to the dogged Mexican who was threatening to romp away with the stage win.
Oh lord, the dust. It was hard to see who was who for much of the day (at least, that’s the excuse Del Toro would use for not realising it was Bernal, not his teammate Ayuso, on his wheel as he attacked). It was a career-defining performance from the maverick UAE kid, and such a valiant effort from Bernal – a rider who is starting to look every bit like the version of himself we all hoped he would be able to reclaim, following his accident three years previously. But despite the bad days and the bad luck and the bad legs, Wout van Aert showed wily race craft, raw power and true tenacity to ride to glory. And there weren’t many of us who weren’t bloody delighted for him.
And so the UAE leadership debates rage once again, though not in the way we all perhaps expected. The perennially peeved Ayuso has a new reason to worry and it comes in the shape of the 21-year-old Mexican heir to the throne of Pogačar. The Spaniard’s leadership woes continue following a well-ridden ITT on stage 10 that keeps Del Toro in the maglia rosa for another day, with his teammate just under half a minute behind. Two more UAE riders sit in 7th and 8th, an embarrassment of riches that for me feels somehow worse than the Jumbo-Visma Vuelta rout of 2023, given that the team here at this Giro doesn’t even include their star rider.
Beyond that, it was another brilliant day for Lidl-Trek, who are the team of the race despite UAE’s overall success so far, animating on all fronts, the big man Daan Hoole outclassing every other time trial specialist to score his first pro win outside of the Dutch national championships, on the biggest of stages. It was a time trial made more difficult for the GC riders by the late arrival of a rain storm, and the day was fought on two fronts: early, in the dry conditions, by those contesting the stage, and later – by team UAE, for the right to wear pink, and the other GC contenders, for the chance to fight another day alongside the dominant team at the race. Josh Tarling couldn’t quite repeat his heroics of stage 2, Ethan Hayter improved on his performance to make the podium, and basically anyone who made it through their run before the rain came got luckier than those who followed.
All that’s left to say really, is this.
Thanks for reading, if you made it this far. I’m quite bad at this ‘keeping up with races’ malarkey, which isn’t the best for someone who does what I do. But hey, at least it comes with stunning imagery. Oh, wait…
Agreed!! great write up, also keeping up to with NSF and Matt Stephens gonna be great last week
Between you and the NSF lads I’ve been able to keep up with the downs and ups of this Giro. I’ve really enjoyed conjuring the scenery in my mind through the spoken and written word!