The penultimate stage of the 88th Giro d'Italia celebrates the Olympic Valleys of Sestrieres that will host the 2006 Winter Olympics and the riders who take the start will celebrate a world of pain. Starting in Savigliano south of Torino, Stage 19 makes a long, gradual 45km climb up to Sestrieres after 101km. After a long descent to Susa, the final 45km of this stage is simply brutal. The never-before used climb of the Colle della Finestre is a 18.5km monster, with an average gradient of 9.2%. Said to be harder than the Passo Gavia, the final 7.9km of Finestre is on a gravel "strada bianca" that will make the the climb even more difficult. Once over the Finestre, there's another descent and the final 12km climb back up to Sestrieres.
TOPICS
-
Tour of Denmark: Wout van Aert scores hat-trick on stage 3 with a win on wet and wild queen stage
Lukaš Kubiš retains second place on GC with runner-up finish to race leader -
Charlie Aldridge and Sina Frei win short track titles in tight matchups in UEC Mountain Bike European Championships
Swiss women fill two podium spots on home soil at Monte Tamaro while compatriot Dario Lillo takes bronze for men -
'Every race in my life, I'm underestimated' – Marlen Reusser has no doubts ahead of first major Tour de France Femmes GC campaign
Inclusion of a TT clearly suits the world champion, but she wants to remind the world she's a perfectly strong climber, too -
'Not the best scenario, but it's life' – Primož Roglič hit by car driver in training, forced to miss build-up races for Vuelta a España
Slovenian largely uninjured but reveals big bruise to back of leg after cancelling participation at Clásica San Sebastián and Vuelta a Burgos
