Jai Hindley (Bora-hansgrohe) has cut the overall lead of Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) by winning the sprint for 3rd place on stage 16 today. In what has been a race of seconds so far at the top, Carapaz now leads from Hindley by just three seconds, rather than the seven-second advantage he had setting out this morning.
The big news out of today’s stage – apart from a brilliant win by Jan Hirt (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) – was the time loss suffered by João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates).
While the Portuguese rider limited than loss to 14 seconds to the small group Hindley and Carapaz finished in, he is now 44 seconds off maglia rosa, Carapaz, and 41 seconds off Hindley. That means Almeida is now at, or much closer to, a deficit even his superior TT strengths will not be able to overcome in the concluding 17.4km TT in Verona on Sunday.
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Today, Hirt and Thymen Arensman (Team DSM) were the only two survivors from the very large early breakaway that went clear on the first climb of the day; Galetto di Casino.
From that large group, seven riders eventually emerged on the Mortirolo. With Hirt and Arensman were: Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), Lennard Kämna (Bora-hansgrohe), Hugh Carthy (EF EasyPost), Koen Bouwman (Jumbo Visma) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).
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Hirt and Arensman then emerged strongest of the seven on the final climb of the Valico di Santa Cristina, with Hirt pulling clear on his own towards the top. Going down the descent, which looked dangerous after a brief shower, Hirt held off Arensman to win by seven seconds after 202km of racing into Aprica.
Some 1:24 down on the winner came a four-man chasing group. It contained the three GC men who proved strongest on the final climb – Hindley, Carapaz and Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) - along with Valverde, whom they caught on the run in.
Carapaz and Hindley both tested each other with attacks on the final climb, though nothing could separate them and Landa. As they squared up to each other, Almeida slipped off the back of their group and did his best to limit the damage.
At the finish, Carapaz looked determined to win the sprint for 3rd place and pick up the remaining four second bonus. And while he almost got Hindley on the line, it was the Australian who took the placing and the bonus. Carapaz was 4th, for which there is no time bonus, with Valverde 5th and Landa in 6th.
Behind them, Lennard Kämna – one of several riders placed by Bora-hansgrohe in the early breakaway – finished with Almeida; in 7th and 8th at 1:38. Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Qazaqstan), who was with Carapaz, Hindley and Landa until the final climb, lost 42 seconds to them and finished in 9th. Carthy, one of the early breakaway men, was 10th at 2:13.
Tomorrow's stage 17 - some 168km into Lavarone – features two hard climbs in the final third of the day. The riders crest the 11.8km Valico del Vetrilol – averaging 7.7 per cent – before a 12km descent. There is then a brief period of flat and then it's straight up the Monterovere. That 8km climb, averaging 9.6 per cent, is crested with 8km of undulating road to the finish.
There is then some respite on Thursday’s stage 18 into Treviso as it looks like one for the sprinters before another summit finish to Santuario di Castelmonte on Friday and another, to Passo Fedaia, on Saturday ahead of Sunday’s TT.
