Filippo Ganna wins Giro stage 14 time trial, Almeida retains GC lead
Ineos Grenadiers’ management team said before the stage 14 individual time trial that they were expecting some strong performances, and they were not disappointed. World ITT Champion Filippo Ganna rode into the finish 26 seconds ahead of his teammate, former World Champion, Rohan Dennis, and remained in the hot seat until the rest of the riders had finished. For the third time in this years Giro Ganna bounded onto the podium to accept stage honors.
With all eyes on the general classification contenders hoping to unseat Joao Almeida (Deceuninck – Quickstep) who had been wearing pink for eleven straight stages prior to the ITT, the question was, will Almeida keep pink? The answer: yes. Almeida finished 7th on the day, gaining time over his closest rival, Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb), who finished 16 seconds behind Almeida in 9th.
The young American, Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates), had an exceptional ride, finishing behind the two Ineos riders in third, and moving into 4th in the general classification.
How it happened
The GC had shuffled minimally since stage three when the race finished on Etna. As the Giro approached its final week, the 14th stage individual time trial looked to be an opportunity for some riders to gain the time that has eluded them so far in the race.
The course was nothing incredibly special, albeit with many ups and downs, specifically, the Muro di ca’ del Poggio, only a 1.1 km long climb with an average grade of 12.3%, and with max grades at 19%. Into the finish of the ITT, the roads get technical as the course makes its way through Valdobbiadene.
Unfortunately, Giulio Ciccone of Trek-Segafredo was forced to withdraw from the Giro before the start of stage 14 with acute bronchitis. Ciccone had COVID-19 in September and all tests since have come back negative, however, the team doctor said in a statement that his condition was not optimal for a grand tour and the team would like to avoid overloading his “already tired physique”.
Some ITT specialists like Denis, De Gendt, and Kangert fought for the top step on the day, but just like the opening stage of the Giro, no one could come close to World Champion Ganna. As for the general classification hopefuls, the top three remained the same as did Vincenzo Nibali in 5th, and McNulty gained 7 spots, moving into fourth overall. Pozzovivo lost a little time and dropped into 6th, while the rest of the top riders leapfrogged each other but stayed within the top ten. All in all, the biggest GC wins on the day were Almeida and McNulty.
With three riders in the top 10 including the top two steps, Ineos will swim in Prosecco after the stage.
Results
1. Filippo Ganna IGD, 42:40
2. Rohan Dennis IGD, +0:28
3. Brandon McNulty UAD, +1:09
4. Thomas de Gendt LTS, +1:11
5. Josef Cerny CCC, +1:16
6. Joao Almeida DQT, +1:31
7. Tanel Kangert EF1, +1:33
8. Jonathan Castoviejo IGN, +1:44
9. Wilco Kelderman SUN, +1:47
10. Jan Tratnik TBM, +2:00
General Classification
1. Joao Almeida DQT
2. Wilco Kelderman SUN, +0:56
3. Pello Bilbao TBM, +2:11
4. Brandon McNulty UAD, +2:23
5. Vincenzo Nibali TFS, +2:30
6. Rafal Majka BOH, +2:33
7. Domenico Pozzovivo NTT, +2:33
8. Fausto Masnada DQT, +3:11
9. Patrick Konrad BOH, +3:17
10. Jai Hindley SUN, +3:33
The post Filippo Ganna wins Giro stage 14 time trial, Almeida retains GC lead appeared first on CyclingTips.