87th Giro d'Italia - Grand Tour

Italy, May 8-30, 2004

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Stage 18 - May 28: Cles Val Di Non - Bormio 2000, 118 Km

Short but not at all sweet, Stage 18 is the queen stage of the 2004 Giro. This stage is so short that no one can afford any tactical errors, but so hard that a natural selection of only the best riders will be made. After the long climb up the Tonale, it's up the long, steep Gavia at 2.618 meters, or Cima Coppi, the highest point in the Giro.

Simoni will send his key lieutenants Cunego and Mazzoleni on the attack here to isolate his rivals on the terrible slopes of the Gavia. Stage 18 then plunges down to Val Furva and Bormio, cliLa Motta, then back up to the mountaintop finish at the Bormio 2000 ski resort. A perfect day out for Gilberto Simoni to take command of the Giro and grab the Maglia Rosa.

Climbs

Passo del Tonale (m. 1.883) - km. 15.2 - Gradient: 6 percent
Passo di Gavia (m. 2.618) - km. 16.7 - Gradient: 7.9 percent
Bormio 2000 (m. 1.938) - km. 9.9 - Gradient: 7.5 percent

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