The men of the mountains showed their hands on the fifteenth stage of the 2014 Giro d’Italia.
An entirely flat and relatively straight-forward 206km run from Valdegno came to an abrupt and disconcerting end for the peloton’s flatlanders just 19km from the finish.
The brutal ascent of the Plan di Montecampione saw some of the world’s best climbers show their capabilities, including race leader, Rigoberto Uran (Omega Pharma-Quickstep), and fellow Colombian climbing specialists, Fabio Duarte (Team Colombia), Nairo Quintana (Movistar), and Julien Arredondo (Trek).
An Italian, however, won the day for the home nation, for the third of three consecutive stages. Fabio Aru (Astana) claimed the biggest victory of his career to date by riding clear of an elite group containing Uran and other pre-race favourites with three kilometres remaining.
Another of his countrymen was on hand to record the moment. Enjoy this gallery of images from official UCI WorldTour photographer (and Italian) Stefano Sirotti.
