Italy's Eros Poli descends Mont Ventoux, heading for a stage win in the 1994 Tour de France.(Image credit: AFP)
Eros Poli soars to victory on stage 15 of the 1994 Tour de France.(Image credit: AFP Photo)
The Stage 19 individual time trial at the Giro d'Italia is a monster: a mountain test that may well decide the overall winner. The riders will force themselves up the 26.8 kilometers Monte Grappa, with numerous switchbacks and gradients from 7 to 15%.
It starts out calmly enough, with roughly seven flat kilometers but from there is goes up, and the riders will take about 45 minutes over the tight hairpins to the top.
“The important thing is to try and find a perfect line through the corners,” former pro Eros Poli told inCycle TV. “You have pain all over your body, not only your legs but your shoulder, your back .... You are pushing with your whole body.”
“The last 5 km will be terrible,” he said as he rode up the 21 switchbacks in that closing section.
