Stage 21: May 30 2010 - Verona 15 km

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The race of truth

A final time trial that gives a nod to Francesco Moser's Giro-winning time trial performance into Verona in 1984, when runner-up Laurent Fignon maintained a race helicopter had ‘blown' the Italian to victory. The 1999 and 2004 World Road Race Championships took place on this course, although in the reverse direction. It was won on both occasions by Spain's Oscar Freire. The course includes the 5km climb of the Torricelle and finishes in the Roman arena in the heart of Verona.

Procycling's favourite to win:

Denied by Cervélo's Ignatas Konovalovas by just a second on a flat TT in Rome last year, Bradley Wiggins will be a strong bet on this more testing course after three weeks of brutally hard racing. Although unlikely to be in the overall running, the Team Sky leader will relish this test with just five weeks to go before the Tour de France.

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"The Torricelle is a well-known climb in Italian cycling. This isn't an easy final time-trial, and it isn't one for the specialists. I can't see the pink jersey changing hands if there are any more than 30 seconds between first and second. This stage is above all a gauge of condition, so a guy who has been superior in the mountains will probably be superior here."

Distance: 15km
Vertical climb: 220m
Highest point: 277m
Terrain: Lumpy
Category: Individual Time Trial

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