Rigoberto Uran hung on to third place overall after a gritty ride from Team Sky in freezing conditions on stage 14 at the Giro.
Nibali extends his lead
Rigoberto Urán clung on to third place overall after a gritty ride from Team Sky in freezing conditions on stage 14 at the Giro d’Italia.
The Colombian crossed the line in fifth place at the top of the steep Jafferau climb after an attacking finale had seen the race’s overall contenders go head-to-head.
Mauro Santambrogio (Farnese Vini) and race leader Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) appeared first out of the mist to take the top two positions on the stage, the latter extending his race lead in the process.
Bonus seconds for Santambrogio bumped the Italian to a single second behind Urán on the general classification, the pair 2:46 and 2:47 off the maglia rosa respectively.
Sergio Henao had lit things up on the steep climb after Team Sky had set a searing pace, thinning out the lead group significantly into Bardonecchia with Dario Cataldo the last man in support of the Colombians.
Yet after Henao’s attack was reeled in it was the race leader who took it up and opened his gap out to 1:26 over Cadel Evans (BMC Racing).
Freezing conditions
The stage, from Cervere to Jafferau in north-western Italy, was extended by 12km as a result of the re-routing and once again the riders got under way in cold and wet conditions.
Seven riders broke away early, but after three of them crashed on the treacherous roads, it was left to Luca Paolini (Katusha), Matteo Trentin (Omega Pharma – Quick-Step), Sonny Colbrelli (Bardiani Valvole – CSF Inox) and Daniele Pietropolli (Lampre-Merida) to press on as a quartet.
They built up a lead of over nine minutes and as the new route rose gently up the Susa Valley towards the ski resort of Bardonecchia, just below Jafferau, the peloton was able to make only small inroads into the gap.
The advantage was just over five minutes by the time Trentin suffered a puncture and dropped behind 17km out, and was still at 4:40 when the remaining trio passed through Bardonecchia and embarked on the final climb.
Paolini battled on gamely but was finally engulfed by a surging lead group in which Nibali strengthened his grip on the race.
After the stage Sports Director Marcus Ljungqvist praised the work ethic of the team in yet more foul conditions:
“The team did a lot of great work," confirmed the Swede. "That was the plan – to go for the stage and set it up for Sergio and Rigo in the end. The guys did a great job as a team to bring back the break. There were moments when we thought it would be close but the guys were strong out there.
“It was just a hard day with the rain and cold. A lot of people just wanted to get to the finish but we tried. And if you don’t try you don’t win.
“We’ll see what happens tomorrow and the stage we end up with. Let’s hope for a bit better weather!”
