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When nothing was expected to happen this Tuesday, on stage 16 of the Tour of Italy, João Almeida, who could have taken the opportunity to save energy, decided to surprise and take advantage of the last kilometers of the day to attack Wilco Kelderman. The Portuguese showed tremendous strength, audacity and ambition at the end of the stage, winning two more seconds to the great rival in the fight for the Giro (who is now 17 seconds behind the leader), before a Very tough and crucial day in the fight for victory.
More than the two seconds won, this was a clear message from Almeida to the rivals. And the way Kelderman relented could be a good indication for the rider in Caldas da Rainha.
The general classification of the Giro after step 16
Before that, the stage victory was due to the day’s break, an initially very large group in which Jan Tratnik (Bahrain) ended up being the strongest, beating Ben O’Connor (NTT), in a final duel at two.
The stage this Tuesday, after the rest day and before a high mountain day, started with the news that Fernando Gaviria (Emirates) is infected with covid-19. In addition to a member of the personal of AG2R, this was the only positive test for the new coronavirus among the 492 performed in the peloton.
Without Gavaria, this stage promised to be a true “slow death” for cyclists. Despite not having any first class mountain, he had no more, no less than six climbs during the day (one second category and five third).
With so many mountain points to distribute on the six peaks, this was, therefore, the ideal day for Rúben Guerreiro to try to recover the blue jersey, lost two days ago. And the Portuguese did not miss the opportunity. He attacked on the first climb of the day and, chased by a group of 26 riders, scored the highest score, followed by the current blue jersey, Giovanni Visconti.
The second mountain smiled at Visconti, who beat Guerreiro pique, and the third gave the Italian the maximum score, for a mechanical problem that left Guerreiro behind.
Once again in the front group, condemned to fight for victory, running for more than 12 minutes in front of the group, Guerreiro was the strongest on the fourth mountain. The Portuguese abdicated fighting for the points of the last two climbs, possibly preferring to save energy for the next mountain stages.
Heading into the race, little else has happened from here. The final victory was discussed between Tratnik and Ben O’Connor, while the peloton, further back, advanced without problems in saving energy. But only until João Almeida decided to break the monotony and surprisingly attack Kelderman, who gave a few meters to the Portuguese – good sign for what’s next?
This Wednesday there is no way to avoid an attack on João Almeida’s pink shirt. The peloton will have to go through three mountain counts of the first category, the last of which will coincide with the high end of this stage 17. An essential day for the future of the Portuguese in this Giro.
