Giro d'Italia 2015: Stage 17 preview
Map and profile
Manzoni says
We shouldn’t underestimate that first climb because it’s going to be horrible after a stage like the one they’ve been through the day before. It’s 7km and on the surface it might look insignificant. However, if you’re morale is low and you lose contact you might find yourself in real trouble.
The point is that you don’t know if or when the break will go and nor how much time the sprint team will let the break take. For all we know it might be lightning fast for an hour, so focus is key.
So it’s important that they don’t take it lightly. They need to have an objective and a responsibility, because that’s the best way to keep the group united and the morale up. Logically it’s a sprint, but what happens depends on the composition of the break and on the sprint teams. At this stage of the race they’re extremely tired, so you never know…
Moment in time
The Giro paid its first visit to Lugano for the penultimate stage in 1947. It marked a historic moment in the sense that it was the first time the race had alighted outside of Italy’s confines, but also because of what happened on the road. By now Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali were at loggerheads. Bartali had won the previous year but this time Coppi, five years younger, had destroyed him in the queen stage in the Dolomites. Bartali had been humiliated and so, as they crossed the Swiss border, he launched a stinging attack on a tasty little climb. The purpose was to win the points at the top, but Coppi wasn’t having it. Four times Bartali surged and four times Coppi, riding within himself, reeled him in. It was classic stuff and the needle between them was palpable.
Later, as they neared Lugano, was another highly symbolic moment. Vito Ortelli, the ‘third man’ of Italian cycling, took off in the company of Giovanni Corrieri, a lightning fast Sicilian. Ortelli was so classy that many had favoured him to barge in on the Coppi/Bartali duopoly, but there was no way he could beat Corrieri in a sprint. What happened next, though, was astonishing…
Corrieri’s team mate, a certain Fiorenzo Magni, jumped across the gap. It seemed to make no sense whatsoever, but Magni had a point to prove. Ortelli was a big rival for him and if he’d to tread on Corrieri’s toes to get at him, then so be it. Ruthless, no-quarter stuff…

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!
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for signing up to The Pick. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Biniam Girmay blames poor Gent-Wevelgem on forgetting to eat
2022 winner will make Tour of Flanders debut on his 23rd birthday -
How to watch Dwars door Vlaanderen – live streaming
All the streaming information for the last cobbled tune-up before the Tour of Flanders -
Cytronex electric bike conversion kit review: Engineering done right
We took the Cytronex-converted titanium Brompton T-Line to task, and it delivered -
Elinor Barker shines at Gent-Wevelgem as maternity comeback gathers pace
'It's frustrating not to stay away at the end but it's all good' Briton rider said after seventh-place finish