The final day in the mountains of this year’s Giro d’Italia saw the riders at the top of the general classification take their last big shot at securing a place on the final podium in Verona. Stage twenty again saw maglia rosa Ivan Basso take advantage of his powerful Liquigas-Doimo team with another armchair ride to the final climb.
Carlos Sastre (Cervelo TestTeam) was the first to try his luck in the big break of the day, and he was joined later on in the stage by Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana). Both riders were eyeing a possible stage win atop the Passo del Tonale, and dreaming of rising up the rankings in the overall. Neither rider was able to capitalize on their efforts, with a late attack by World champion Cadel Evans the only offensive to make a dent.
Evans hit his rivals with 3 kilometers remaining to finish second on the stage to wrap up the points competition and assure himself of the red jersey in Verona. His time bonus put him within 51 seconds of Vincenzo Nibali’s spot on the podium, meaning the young Italian will have the added pressure of a time trial specialist breathing down his neck. Michele Scarponi is one second behind his compatriot in fourth place, but is more likely to lose time in the final test against the clock. Last year’s Giro d’Italia saw Rabobank’s Denis Menchov nearly lose his crown due to a crash in the final time trial, which is a picture that Nibali will do his best to keep out of his head.
Caisse d’Epargne’s David Arroyo had another solid day in the mountains. He started the day with the pink bike he used during his time in the maglia rosa, likely because it was the final road stage and he felt more comfortable on that machine. The Spaniard came unhitched when Evans attacked on the final climb, but held himself together to increase his advantage over Nibali, all but assuring his second place in the overall.
Tomorrow’s 15.3 kilometer time trial will see Scarponi and Nibali fight to keep Evans from overtaking their positions in the overall standings. The Australian should take time out of both riders, with the combined short distance and just over 700 feet of vertical gain not enough to help a climbing specialist like Scarponi gain an advantage.