Giro d'Italia 2019: Stage 2 Preview
Sunday, May 12, 2019: Bologna - Fucecchio, 200km
Matt White's Giro d'Italia Stage 2 Preview:
Sunday, May 12, 2019
205km Bologna - Fucecchio
On paper, a sprinter will win this stage but they probably won’t do enough to take the maglia rosa, because in all likelihood, they’ll finish more than 10 seconds down on the time trial winner from the previous stage. That said, this is not an easy day. It’s 205km and both climbs in the stage have technical descents. There’s also a fair bit of deception here, because although the race doesn’t look that hard on paper if some teams really decide to light things up on the two last climbs then I struggle to see the pure sprinters hanging on. A lot will depend on whether the leader of the race is a real GC rider, and if he wants to defend at such an early point in the race. If the stage really opens up then it’s going to take a super strong sprinter with an incredibly dedicated team around him to win. What I also found was that the descent of the final climb of the San Baronto is super fast, so if a group is still clear at the bottom of the descent it’s going to be quite hard for the chase to become organized. Also, if that final descent is wet then it’s going to be really dangerous. It’s rapid and it’s technical. As I said, a sprinter should win on paper but it could be incredibly tough.
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Most Popular
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Simon Andreassen claims MTB XCO World Cup victory in Araxá from four-way sprint
Victor Koretzky battles back to second in elite men's race after last lap mechanical, Mairiporã winner Christopher Blevins crashes in opening lap -
MTB World Cup Araxá - Haley Batten wins XCO battle with Jenny Rissveds
Savilia Blunk takes third in second round of women's elite cross-country Olympic racing in Brazil -
'A history marker' - Grace Brown brings FDJ-SUEZ, Australia a Monument at Liège
Brown joins O'Grady, Hayman, Goss and Gerrans on the list of Australian Monument winners -
Alexis Magner, Roderyck Asconeguy win Rock&Road Criterium
Magner, Rodriguez lead USA Crits overall series after the second round in Newnan