Giro d'Italia: Valverde wins intense stage to Andalo

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Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) took his first ever Giro d'Italia stage victory and moved himself back into podium contention on a fast and furious stage 16 to Andalo. Valverde beat maglia rosa Steven Kruijswijk in a sprint to the line as the Dutchman extended his lead in the overall classification for the second consecutive stage.

Ilnur Zakarin had been in a group with Kruijswijk and Valverde but couldn't handle the finishing speed and rolled in eight seconds down. Home favourite Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) blew up on the penultimate climb and lost over a minute in the fight for the overall classification.

There was action from start to finish with almost all of the key GC riders taking a punt off the front. Sitting just off the podium going into the stage, it was Valverde that forced the race-winning move on the Fai della Paganella with 15 kilometres remaining.

Kruijswijk was wise to the Movistar rider and comfortably closed the gap with Zakarin the final rider able to make the junction. The move forced the first signs of difficulty for Nibali, who swiftly dropped back to a chasing group that contained Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge).

All intent on turning the screws on Nibali, the three initially put their own ambitions aside to do just that. Valverde's intentions soon became obvious as he sat on the back of the bunch, allowing Zakarin to take them through the final kilometres. The Spaniard finally made his move just before the last corner and his finishing speed was too much for Kruijswijk to handle. The time gap and the bonus seconds were enough to move him back onto the podium and within touching distance of Chaves in second with 23 seconds separating the two.

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How it happened

The final week of the Giro d'Italia began in earnest with the shortest road stage of the whole race. Short it might be but it packed a punch with three climbs along the road to Andalo.

Kruijswijk had extended his lead in the overall classification in the time trial ahead of the rest day but he would surely face a tough fight to maintain it as the peloton returned to the saddle.

The peloton hit the first climb of the day, the Passo della Mendola, and the attacks rained down. The incessant attacking ensured a blistering average speed of 49.6kph over the first hour. Sniffing an opportunity to put Kruijswijk and Esteban Chaves in trouble, Movistar and Astana drove hard at the front of the bunch. Their efforts put the LottoNL-Jumbo team under pressure and Kruijswijk was soon isolated.

Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha), Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) all attacked on the Passo della Mendola, but none could shake the race leader who looked calm and comfortable in the maglia rosa. A mechanical problem for Nibali would have had hearts racing in the Astana car but some swift help from a teammate ensured he was back on his way without much delay.

While Kruijswijk stood firm under the repeated tests from his rivals, the same could not be said about Chaves. The Colombian, who so impressed in the Dolomites, struggled to respond in the same way. The key split occurred when Nibali struck out once again towards the top of the Mendola and immediately got a gap on the bunch. Kruijswijk, Valverde and others managed to bridge the gap eventually but a noticeable absence was Chaves. He could only watch the other favourites disappear as he, Rafal Majka and Rigoberto Uran were dropped.

Nibali would have the assistance of Tanel Kangert up front, after the Estonian made it clear in an earlier move on the climb. Kangert flew down the descent at the head of the group of favourites, pushing the gap to Chaves up towards a minute. Behind, Chaves was relying on the help of Damien Howson but the Australian had little help from others and he struggled to get the gap below the 30-second mark.

Cannondale had several riders around the struggling Uran, but chose to let Orica-GreenEdge to do most of the chasing. They did have Joe Dombrowski in the front group, so a stage win was still possible until the team brought him back to the chasing group. The American looked and sounded disappointed with the team's decision and would have been more so when Uran would later be dropped.

Valverde punishes Nibali

The GC favourites continued to cross swords as they hit the Fai della Paganella but it was Valverde that struck the fatal blow to Nibali's chances with 15-kilometres to go. Only Kruijswijk and Zakrin could keep up with the 36-year-old Giro d'Italia debutant as Nibali showed signs of tiring. The Astana rider quickly dropped back through the groups on the road, eventually being caught by the Chaves-led group some two kilometres later.

With 40 seconds between himself and the three out front, the fat lady hadn't sung for Nibali just yet but there was worse to come. While Chaves kicked on over the steepest gradients at the top of the climb, Nibali was heading out the back door for the second time in quick succession.

Up front, Zakarin was putting in most of the effort as Valverde loomed at the back waiting to use his superior sprint. Approaching the final corner, Valverde moved out of the wheel and powered to a comfortable finish over Kruijswijk, with Zakarin trailing over in third. Chaves would limit his losses to remain second overall, finishing 42 seconds down on the winner. Nibali, however, would be pushed off the podium, after finishing 1:47 back.

Wednesday's stage 17 should give the GC riders a change to recoup before the more challenging stages later in the week but, with the Giro d’Italia, you can never be too sure.

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