Stage 14 – Treviso to Valdobbiadene (ITT)
Stage 14 – Treviso to Valdobbiadene (ITT)
The race’s lone individual time trial appears on stage 14, with a lumpy 59.2km route from Treviso to Valdobbiadene.
Such a distance will suit riders like Australian time trial champion, Richie Porte, and the Colombian national champion against the clock, Rigoberto Uran.
Uran bagged the pink jersey with a masterful ride in the cronometro last year, with both Fabio Aru and Domenico Pozzovivo losing more than two minutes to the Etixx-QuickStep man.
Contador, meanwhile, claimed the Vuelta a Espana red jersey for the first time in last year’s race after the individual time trial.
Tactics too might play their part – several riders opted to climb on a road bike before switching at the top of the ascent last year – but with two climbs this time out, both featuring later on the course, it will be interesting to see how they approach it.
The opening 30km are almost entirely flat and straight, but the latter half not only boasts climbs but tricky technical sections too.
Still, it is a chance for the likes of Uran, Porte and Contador to put a lot of time into the other contenders, who lack the same time-trialling ability.