Giro d'Italia: Slippery ITT for most, Roglic Takes Victory & Stage 10 Preview

Young Bob Jungles riders himself into second place on the GC. Only one second separates him from his teammate Brambilla in the pink leaders jersey. Photo by Sirotti

A nail-biting ITT stage in Chianti on the Giro as the rain poured down on the GC contenders. Stage 8 winner and Maglia Rosa holder Gianluca Brambilla (ETIXX) finished with a 1 second advantage over second-placed teammate Bob Jungels who also holds the young rider’s white jersey.

But it was Primoz Roglic of Team LottoNL-Jumbo who won the stage with the fastest time of 45:29. His advantage came from the dry roads as he started 42nd, before the rain fell on the remaining riders. Roglic had come second to Tom Dumoulin (GIANT) on the opening ITT stage last week.

Dumoulin on the wet roads in Chianti. His performance on the day moved him up the GC list again into 7th position. Photo by Sirotti

Fabian Cancellara (TREK) who is competing in his last Giro d’Italia rode himself into fourth position on the stage but was aiming for a stage win. He was only off the pace by 28 seconds over the 40km course that undulated through the countryside.

Cancellara was only off the pace by 28 seconds but it secured him fourth position on Stage 9 of the Giro. Photo by Sirotti

Check out the comparison in road conditions between Cancellara and Jungles.

Stage 9 Results:
1. Primoz Roglic (Slo) – Team LottoNl-Jumbo – 0:51:45
2. Matthias Brandle (Aut) – IAM Cycling – 0:00:10
3. Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) – IAM Cycling – 0:00:17
4. Fabian Cancellara (Swi) – Trek-Segafredo – 0:00:28
5. Anton Vorobyev (Rus) – Team Katusha – 0:00:30
6. Bob Jungels (Lux) – Etixx-Quick-Step – 0:00:45
7. Stefan Kueng (Swi) – BMC Racing Team – 0:00:58
8. Jos Van Emden (Ned) – Team LottoNl-Jumbo – 0:01:08
9. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) – Team LottoNl-Jumbo – 0:01:16
10. Andrey Amador (CRc) – Movistar Team – 0:01:19

General Classification after Stage 9:
1. Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) – Etixx – Quick-Step – 34:33:04
2. Bob Jungels (Lux) – Etixx-Quick-Step – 0:00:01
3. Andrey Amador (CRc) – Movistar Team – 0:00:32
4. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) – Team LottoNl-Jumbo – 0:00:51
5. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) – Astana Pro Team – 0:00:53
6. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) – Movistar Team – 0:00:55
7. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) – Team Giant-Alpecin – 0:00:58
8. Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) – Team Sky – 0:01:18
9. Rafal Majka (Pol) – Tinkoff Team – 0:01:45
10. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) – Astana Pro Team – 0:01:51

Monday night is the second rest day of the Giro. Racing will return on Tuesday May 17 for Stage 10.

Stage 10 – CAMPI BISENZIO – SESTOLA, 219km

The route

After the first 25km, this mountain stage doesn’t feature one single flat metre. Just past Pistoia, the route climbs up Passo della Collina (on wide and ever-bending roads) and across the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. After dropping quickly into Porretta Terme, the route climbs up again to tackle the Pietracolora categorised climb, leading into Valle del Samone. A short flat sector follows, leading to Marano sul Panaro. Here the route starts to climb and descend constantly over 70km (with milder or harsher gradients), all the way up to the Pian del Falco KOM. The final part of the climb features long stretches with double-digit gradients (topping out at 14%). The last 15km run half downhill and half uphill.

Final kms

The final kilometres comprise a fast and technical descent that leads from the KOM summit to Fanano. The descent can be divided into two quite steep parts: the first one runs on large roads, with just a few bends, and leads into a second section where the road is narrower at points, and which twists and turns all the way up into urban Fanano. Next on the route is the final 7km climb, with gradients of 5-6%, on a wide yet winding road that leads into the final 100m long, uphill home straight, on a 6.5m wide asphalt road.