Giro del Trentino-Melinda Stage 2 Preview

By David Hunter

Arco – Brentonico 168.2km

It might just be stage 2, but it’s time for the Queen stage of the race. It features the only HC climb of the race and it’s a beauty. With 12 KOM points on offer, any rider who fancies the jersey will be looking to take the climb.

The Passo Santa Barbara is one of those very Italian climbs. It’s around 12km long at 9.4%. Simply put, it’s a bugger of a climb. The opening 7km, barely drops below 9% and considering a lot of riders are just returning from altitude, we could have a lot of riders on a bad day.

The final climb is only cat 2, it’s 8.4km at 6%, so not too difficult, haha! Kilometre 6 will be decisive, as it’s at 10%. The 14% ramp, with 2km remaining, will be the launching pad for the winning move.

Bora-Argon 18 are the race leaders, after a surprising TTT win. With the whole peloton close on GC, the break will not be given much room, but KOM hunters will be keen to go after the points. The jersey means a lot to the smaller teams, so expect to see Bardiani, Androni, Nippo, Southeast and Caja Rural to try to make the break. Riders like Luca Chirico, Marco Frapporti, Giorgio Cecchinel and Amets Txurruka are favourites to go for the break. It might not be easy to make the break, so we could have some unfamiliar faces in there.

Bora will get plenty of help controlling the break, with Sky, Astana and AG2R all keen to ensure a stage win. The long HC climb will ensure a small peloton reaches the top, before the descent into the final climb. It would make sense to let the break stay away until the lower slopes of the final climb and then the peloton will strike.

Team Sky are using this as preparation for the Giro d’Italia, so expect to see the mountain train in full swing. However, they aren’t the only strong team here. Astana and AG2R both have 3 or 4 options, so the tactics of the race will be very interesting. To ensure we have a structured race, Sky will need to set a fast pace and eliminate as many riders as possible. Ideally, each big team would only have a couple of riders left for the final climb, with Sky having 4: Porte, Nieve, Konig and Deignan.

The pro-continental teams always do well here. Team Colombia, MTN-Qhubeka and Bardiani are well placed to attack and also have multiple options. Duarte, Torres, Meintjes, Kudus, Bongiorno and Zardini should not be allowed any freedom as they are dangerous. After winning Coppi e Bartali, Meintjes will have his card firmly marked by the big boys. Expect no freedom for the young climber.

This really could be a fascinating stage. Sky have 3 viable options in Porte, Nieve and Konig. AG2R have 3 in Pozzovivo, Peraud and Bardet. Astana have 4 in Cataldo, Landa, Kangert and Rosa. How it gets played out no one knows! If all 3 teams put men in a late break, then it’s all over! We could get a shock result, then again we could get a very predictable one. It really depends on how the riders tackle the stage.

Prediction Time

The most likely scenario is for Sky to dominate and treat this like a Giro stage. They will ensure a fierce pace is set on the climbs and Porte will attack on the 14% slopes of the final climb. It’s then up to the others to see if they can follow. A stage win and 10 bonus seconds would just about seal the GC for Porte too. Porte is not used to winning races yet and Sky are desperate to let him taste success as often as possible. They will control this stage and the Aussie is looking untouchable just now.

David Hunter

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