Live coverage

Giro d'Italia 2017: Stage 15

By SadhbhO'Shea
published

January 1 - May 28, Valdengo, Italy, Road - WorldTour

Refresh

Welcome to live coverage of stage 15 of the Giro d'Italia from Valdengo to Bergamo.

Giro d'Italia hub

It's race time again. Did you miss us? There's some clear skies out there as the riders sign on. Racing will begin in about 25 minutes. 

Today is unlikely to be a big one for the general classification contenders, although you never really know, but yesterday certainly was. Tom Dumoulin came up trumps with the stage win and an increased buffer in the general classification standings. This is how it looks this morning. 

Vincenzo Nibali on his way to sign on a little earlier. Nibali lost some time yesterday after cracking in the final kilometres of the climb to Oropa. After the stage Nibali said he paid for his earlier efforts but remains confident that he will make time back int he final week. Read his full comments here. 

Tom Dumoulin took the lead in the mountains classification with his stage win yesterday. His lead is slim however and with two classified climbs on the cards for today, the jersey is up for grabs. 

The jersey wearers are ready and waiting, racing action about to begin. 

We saw yesterday that it took quite some time for a breakaway to form with lots of teams, including those focused on the GC, trying to get into the move. Fernando Gaviria was also intent on making sure that Daniel Teklehaimanot didn't make it into the break. With the break in with a good shot of succeeding today and the mountains classification in the offing, we can expect a very hot contest for places in the break. If he's not cooked from yesterday, then Omar Fraile and Jan Polanc are likely contenders for the move today. 

The view from the back of the bunch as the riders waited to start just a little bit earlier. 

And here was Tom Dumoulin relaxing in his pink jersey ahead of the stage start. 

According to Twitter user @laflammerouge16 since 1951 no rider has lost the Giro d'Italia with a lead as large as Tom Dumoulin (2:47) at this point in the race. Stephen Roche is the only rider to come close, he was 2:42 behind Roberto Visentini after stage 14 of the 1987 Giro d'Italia. 

Rules are there to be broken, as Tom Dumoulin did yesterday when he became the first non-Italian rider to win in Oropa. Nairo Quintana is certainly not going to let this one lie and we can expect an all out attack over the next week. 

10km into the stage there has been plenty of action. A break of four riders has gone clear, but can they hold it?

The riders up front are Dries Devenyns, Moreno Hofland, Jan Barta and Jeremy Roy. They've only got about 20 seconds at the moment. 

Eugert Zhupa is also in that breakaway attempt, which has still just got a few seconds on the peloton. It's a very fast start and the peloton is chugging along at 55kph right now, so this move is certainly not decided. 

After 21km, the breakaway has only managed to edge their lead out to 27 seconds. This is a tough fight, who will win out in the end? The peloton or the escapees?

The peloton is reaching speeds of 60kph as they keep this break attempt in check. A lot of teams not happy they've missed this opportunity. 

There were a couple of crashes yesterday but fortunately all the 183 riders who finished yesterday's stage made the start today. Adam Hansen was one of those who came a cropper but, despite an injured hand, he was determined to carry on. 

Despite having a rider in the breakaway move, Bora-Hansgrohe are on the front of the bunch with UAE. They want to put Rui Costa in with a shot of success. The lead is now just 23 seconds as the peloton finally start making ground on the five up front. 

There is a small amount of wind around about at the moment but its only light and will be more cooling than anything. Weather is expected to be between 20 and 24 degrees Celsius throughout. 

After coming down to 15 seconds, the five leaders are pulling out their advantage. Are they winning this tug of war or can the peloton bring them back. Something has got to give because they can't race like this for 200 kilometres. 

Cannondale-Drapac has taken over the pace setting in the bunch. They are yet to get something from this Giro d'Italia and getting someone like Villella or Formolo into the break would be important for them. 

Nairo Quintana will be hoping that things at the top of the GC stay status quo. He lost time yesterday but he remained positive at the end of the stage with some brutal mountain stages to come. Read what Quintana had to say after yesterday's effort here. 

148km remaining from 199km

148km remaining from 199km

Quite a series of roundabouts here, that was three in a row with not much space in between. Fortunately the peloton didn't have to turn at any of them, but kept on going straight ahead, so to speak.

And two more roundabouts! 10 seconds now.

In two km there will be an intermeidate sprint. 

Will the group stay away until the sprint ranking? They only have seven seconds now, and are starting to look back over their shoulders.

They do stay away, and Zhupa takes the maximum points. 

Not only that, their gap is increasing. It is now all the way up to a whopping 11 seconds!

The sprint points went in this order: Zhupa, Barta, Hofland, Roy and Devenyns.

No one is messing around today. Perhaps they are in a hurry to get to the rest day, as they have covered 51.8 km in the first hour.

Interesting. Dumouliln is again fairly far back in the field. It is not likely that one of his rivals would attack at this point, but there is always the danger of wind, echelons or a crash.

128km remaining from 199km

It is beginning to look as if the field has finally decided to let this group go. They look to have dropped their pace slightly as the gap hits 30 seconds. It could still go either way, though.

It looks as if an AG2R rider is trying to get away and join the lead group. It is Julien Bernard. but he is caught again.

An Astana rider is the next to give it a try, with the group now at 36 seconds.

It is Andrey Zeits, who is not really getting very far away.

It does look like the GC teams are quite keen to knock off the pace and let this go. They want to save their energy for other, more important, days. One of the Bahrain-Merida riders came up to the front to have a short conversation with the Cannondale-Drapac rider at the head of things. The pace is still licking along nicely though as the stage hunters are not happy to let this one free just yet. 

This rapid start is going to make the two climbs a very interesting prospect. There will be some riders who will suffer due to this rapid pace. The speedy ride also means that the cut-off time will be much less, so anyone who is already suffering will have to be careful when it comes to that time cut. 

112km remaining from 199km

Cannondale-Drapac is the main driver of this chase. They've not had anything from this Giro d'Italia and they're keen on making today a good one. They're pace setting has forced the peloton into one long line and there are some splits happening as they bring back the escapees again. 

Today has been dubbed by some as a mini Il Lombardia as the final 50km - including the two climbs - follow the route of the monument. There are less climbs than in the full Il Lombardia but this brutal pace and two weeks of racing will make it a very tough finish. There are a number of riders who could do well such as Davide Villella (Cannondale-Drapac), and Diego Rosa (Team Sky).

105km remaining from 199km

Just as the peloton reaches the feed zone, riders from Quick-Step Floors and Movistar try to call for a cease-fire but no heed is taken and the peloton races through the feed zone. Just 10 seconds for the escape group. 

It looks like Teklehaimanot and Senni didn't quite manage the bridge and they're back in the peloton while more riders now try to jump out of the peloton. 

These five are putting in an impressive job under such pressure. Every time it looks like they're about to be brought back, they manage to hold off the peloton. How long can they last though? Surely they can't last much longer. 

101km remaining from 199km

Will Devenyns be allowed to go it alone or will the peloton keep chasing? Who knows in this stage. It has been an utterly crazy start to today's stage as the riders pass the halfway point of this 199km stage. 

Jan Barta is doing his best to get up to Dries Devenyns as it looks like the other three escapees have been brought back. 

News coming in that Rudiger Selig has stepped off the bike and called it quits. That leaves 182 riders in this Giro d'Italia. 

Dries Devenyns has 10 seconds on the maglia rosa group. Lots of riders still very interested in getting up the road and the peloton is in bits. 

94km remaining from 199km

The riders have just passed the two-hour mark and the average speed has been a blistering 52.1kph. There are going to be some very tired legs on the rest day. 

The way this race is going, we could see the GC riders have a much more prominent roll at the finish. It was expected to be a chance for the escapees but if this carries on to the climbs then we might just see the main contenders contest the stage win. 

We'd like to hear your thoughts on the stage. Tweet us at @Cyclingnewsfeed and tell us if how you think this stage will play out. Can a break make it stick or will the GC riders contest the finish?

86km remaining from 199km

83km remaining from 199km

The full composition of the group: Fernando Gaviria, Phil Deignan, Julien Amezqueta, Enrico Battaglin, Jacques Janse van Rensburg, Silvan Dillier, Enrico Barbin, Rudy Molard, Evgeny Shalunov and Simone Petilli. 

Interestingly, the team that was so keen to bring back the last break Cannondale-Drapac has missed out on that move. Lotto-Soudal and Bora-Hansgrohe have also missed out after initially making it into that original move. 

There was no thought for the first of the intermediate sprints as the race was zipping along at such a fast speed. However, this move has made it clear in time for the second and it is an opportunity for Fernando Gaviria to add to his lead in the points classification. This is how it looks at the moment. 

72km remaining from 199km

Pitelli is obviously a good shout for victory on today's stage if the break make it stick but he'll face some stiff competition from the likes of Battaglin, Janse van Rensburg and Molard. Let's see how Gaviria does too. If he's not distanced too much on the climb, he could catch up on the descent and we all know how fast he is in a bunch sprint. 

If the breakaway is allowed to get over both the climbs in the lead, Tom Dumoulin should maintain his place at the top of the standings in the mountains competition. Janse van Rensburg is the best placed in that competition out front but he only has 15 points and, with just 22 points on offer, he's not going to be able to better Dumoulin's 51-point haul. 

66km remaining from 199km

Orica-Scott doing some work on the front of the peloton. They're not letting these guys out front get much time. They've reduced the gap to about 2:09. Could they be interested in a stage win today? This is a stage that would suit Adam Yates. 

Fernando Gaviria puts in an effort on the front of the breakaway group. 

58km remaining from 199km

Caleb Ewan is turning himself inside out on the front of the peloton for Orica-Scott. He's helped to cut down the advantage to 1:27. This ain't over yet for the breakaway. 

The first climb of the Miragolo San Salvatore is fast approaching - about 10km to go. This is what the riders can expect. 

That gap is falling very quickly. How long before someone tries to jump out of the bunch. Perhaps they'll wait until they're a bit closer to the climb as it will be harder to get away on the flat. 

49km remaining from 199km

Riders already being dropped off the peloton including several Cannondale-Drapac riders. One of those is Pierre Rolland. 

The escape group is splitting up too as the gap falls to just 40 seconds. 

Five riders left in that leading group, including Fernando Gaviria. Phil Deignan, Jacques Janse van Rensburg, Julien Amezqueta and Rudy Molard are the riders left up front. 

That is a very impressive ride from Gaviria. This is the harder climb, so if he can hold in here, then he should be able to keep in touch on the next ascent. The hardest bit is yet to come though. 

Orica-Scott has pulled over from the lead of the peloton and it's now Team Sunweb managing the pace. The gap is now 44 seconds. 

It looks like Gaviria has been given the instruction to drop back. he has just been caught by the peloton very quickly. 

Barbin has also been caught as Shalunov, Battaglin, Petelli and Dillier try to catch the four leaders. They're 29 seconds behind the leaders while the peloton is 47 seconds back. 

Almost as soon as he's caught, Gaviria is spat out the back of the bunch.

While the four at the head of proceedings are holding their advantage, the four in the middle are being brought back by the peloton. Only 10 seconds split the second and third groups on the road. 

43km remaining from 199km

The peloton winding their way up the climb.

Enrico Barbin has been dropped by the leaders and Julien Amezqueta is losing touch now too. Just three remaining out front. 

After initially struggling, Rolland has also gone on the attack. He has just 10 seconds on the peloton and is 46 seconds back on the leading group. 

40km remaining from 199km

Rolland has now caught up with Barbin. Does the Italian have the energy to keep up with the Frenchman. Meanwhile, Luis Leon Sanchez attacks from the peloton as up front Janse van Rensburg takes the KOM points. 

The peloton crosses the KOM point about 1 minute back on the leaders. Rolland and Barbin suck in no man's land at the moment. 

Rolland and Barbin have, however, caught Amezqueta, who has to dig in to stop being dropped instantaneously. Luis Leon Sanchez has also joined up with them. 

38km remaining from 199km

Reports coming in that Quintana has crashed. He has however got back on the bike. 

34km remaining from 199km

The leaders are now onto Selvino. 

The pace upping now in the peloton as Quintana suffers a mechanical problem. He needs a new bike.

33km remaining from 199km

De Plus moves off and Bahrain-Merida take up the effort. Quintana is in the peloton but it's a long way to the front though. The peloton is currently 1:14 behind the three leaders. 

Rolland and Sanchez are now alone in that second group on the road and they are catching up with the three leaders. 

A replay of the Nairo Quintana incident shows that he was quite lucky not to go under any barriers. Hopefully for the GC race he isn't too injured following his excursion. 

31km remaining from 199km

The two chasers have joined up with the leaders so we have 5 up front. Barbin is back with the Orica-Scott led peloton and he has to stop for a mechanical problem. 

30km remaining from 199km

The breakaway has responded to the upping of pace from the peloton and they're keeping them at 40 seconds at the moment. A big effort from these five out front, with Sanchez doing a lot of the work. 

Huge crowds greet the leaders as the do the last kilometre of the Selvino. The descent to come with its plentiful hairpin bends. Who dares could win here. 

Sanchez finally getting some help from Janse van Rensburg, the other rider doing the bulk of the work in this leading group. Astana really wants a win here as a chance to honour Michele Scarponi. 

26km remaining from 199km

Tom Dumoulin looking comfortable in the peloton for now. Will any of his rivals try to attack?

24km remaining from 199km

The average speed has slowed a little over the last hour to 46kph. That's still 4kph quicker than the fastest projected time in the road book so we're set for an earlier than expected finish to the day. The riders will be relatively happy about that. 

Once the riders finish this descent, the road will continue on a downward trajectory before a steep little rise in the final kilometre, which also includes some sections of pave.  

20km remaining from 199km

This descent is so twisting that riders in the bunch are finding it difficult to keep hold of the wheel of the rider in front. 

A crash for Kenny Elissonde and he takes Davide Formolo with him. Formolo is able to get up and going but Elissonde looks a little worse for wear. 

Elissonde went down on a section where the sunlight was dappled due to the trees. He looks like he may have hit the wall too. 

16km remaining from 199km

The leaders have hit the bottom of this climb and the road levels out. Sanchez pushing on the pace and Rolland and Deignan have to chase hard to keep in touch with the group. 

Leaders grabbing bidons from the neutral service car. Rolland asks for a gel too. Normally they're not allowed food and drink in the final 20km but that may have been revised due to the brutally fast pace at the start. 

12km remaining from 199km

Just 23 seconds for the five leaders. This is going to be a very close call. 

The earliest predicted finish today was in just over half an hour. After an insanely fast day, they're likely to finish about 20 minutes ahead of that. 

A crash

Tanel Kangert has gone down spectacularly. He collides with a bit of road furniture and is thrown from his bike. 

Kangert tried to jump a raised bit in the road only to find that there was a piece of signage hidden at the back of it. He hit the sign hard and was thrown quite high as he went over the top. He's certainly out of the Giro d'Italia but we don't know how badly injured he is. Perhaps a broken collarbone judging his stance after the incident. 

7km remaining from 199km

Thr leaders are about to enter Bergamo and the gap is just 15 seconds. Who will attack first?

My money is on Sanchez

6km remaining from 199km

Sanchez pushing on the leaders but they've only got 6 seconds now. This is not going to last. 

4km remaining from 199km

Visconti doesn't get far but they start bringing back members of the breakaway just Rolland left. 

3km remaining from 199km

Jungels really pushing on over this unclassified ascent. 

There is a chase on behind led by Pozzovivo and Nibali.

Dumoulin has been dropped but this was never going to be a day for him with this finish. 

2km remaining from 199km

1km remaining from 199km

Adam Yates and Bauke Mollema are in there. Kruijswijk and Zakarin have been distanced. 

1km remaining from 199km

Mollema goes with Pozzovivo

Mollema continues to push on

It's a full-on sprint finish from the GC contenders and Bob Jungels easily overtakes Mollema in the finish to take the stage win. 

Nairo Quintana managed second place in that which brings him some bonus seconds. It's only six but that's six less seconds to take back in the mountains. 

Eight riders in that finishing group almost all GC contenders. Mollema tried to go long but he was swamped when the rest of the riders wound it up. Quintana showed some sprinting instinct by getting into Jungels wheel. A good slipstream to get into. 

With his TT power, Jungels had the upper hand on some of the slighter climbers. That was a superb effort for him and will be a big mental boost after losing time in recent days. He has done really well to tighten his grip on the yonug rider jersey.

Almost the instant he finishes, Nairo Quintana is descended on by the press. We'll have his thoughts on the stage a little later. 

This is how the stage finished today. 

An impressive ride from Patrick Konrad to infiltrate that elite group. How long before he's in those groups more consistently?

News on Tanel Kangert after that horrifying crash. The Estonian has broken his elbow. His departure from the race will be a huge blow for Astana as he was their best placed rider. Attention will turn to Dario Cataldo for the team now. 

This is what the stage has done to the overall classification. Quintana closes the gap to Dumoulin a touch as Kruijswijk enters the top 10 due to Kangert's departure. 

Bob Jungels winning stage 15 of the Giro d'Italia. 

This is what Jungels had to say about his win, the first Grand Tour win of his career. 

Kenny Elissonde manages to make it to the finish despite his crash. He was a little torn up though as this picture from our own Barry Ryan shows.

Tom Dumoulin slowed the pace when Nairo Quintana crashed on the first descent. This is what the maglia rosa had to say in the incident. 

You can find a selection of quotes from the finish line right here. 

Fernando Gaviria had a good day out there, getting into the second break of the day and extending his lead in the points classification. There were plenty of Colombian fan at the finish to cheer him on the stage and he was happy to take a few photos with them. 

What is notable today is that yet again there has been no Italian victory. The home crowds will be frustrated that none of their riders have been able to seal the deal. Vincenzo Nibali looked strong in the finale but he was not able to deliver. There are just six more stages for the home nation to deliver the fans a victory. 

Full results are now available for your perusal, along with photos and a report. We will have highlights for you as soon as possible. 

More reflection from stage winner Bob Jungels. 

Tomorrow will, of course, be a rest day giving the riders a chance to rest up after an blisteringly quick day today. They will need all the energy they can muster with the queen stage greeting them on Tuesday. 

Stage 16 of the Giro d'Italia is a brutal day out with the Mortirolo forming just part of the build-up to the real scene of the action. Following the Mortirolo, the riders will have to take on the Stelvio and the Umbrailpass twice. 

Tom Dumoulin goes into the rest day as the race leader. His collapse at the Vuelta a Espana will be in the back of his mind, but the Dutchman has made big steps forward since that event at the end of 2015. 

That's it for our live coverage today, we'll be back on Tuesday. Stay tuned to Cyclingnews for the next couple of days though as we'll have reaction from today's stage and all the news on the rest day, plus analysis of how things have gone and what to expect in the final week of the Giro d'Italia. 

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

Latest on Cyclingnews