Gallery: Giro d'Italia time trials

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Since 1933, time trials have been a regular feature of the Giro d'Italia. Over the part ten years, the race against the clock has been crucial in deciding the overall winner of the race with uphill time trials a regular occurrence. In 2014, Nairo Quintana's win on Monte Grappa in the maglia rosa helped to cement his overall victory just as Vincenzo Nibali did so a year previously on the climb to Polsa. In 2008, Alberto Contador's time trial up the unpaved Plan de Corones saw him put serious time into his main challengers before sealing the overall win with a commanding final day race against the clock in Milan.

The Giro has also witnessed dramatic final day time trial's in recent years. in 2009, Dennis Menchov crashed on the slippery cobbles around the Colosseum in Rome while wearing the maglia rosa in the final kilometre of the 14.4 km stage. A quick bike change and Menchov was back on the road, sealing a 41 second victory over Danilo Di Luca and his second career Grand Tour victory.

Equally dramatic was the final day 2012 time trial in Milan as Ryder Hesjedal turned a 31 second deficit into a 16 second advantage over Joaquim Rodríguez on the 28.2km course to become the first Canadian winner of the Giro. The two riders had swapped the pink jersey from stage 7 when Hesjedal wore pink for the first time with the time trial the deciding factor in the overall classification.

Stage 14 of the Giro, from Treviso to Valdobbiadene, is one of the longest time trial's in recent grand tour history at 59.4 kilometres in length and is sure to see the first serious time gaps open up on the general classification. Cyclingnews will have live coverage of the stage, but first have a look through our gallery of the last ten year's of time trilling at the Giro.