Giro D'Italia 2015: Stage 14 Results, Overall Standings and Highlights
Team Sky's Vasil Kiryienka won Saturday's Stage 14, the long-awaited individual time trial, but Alberto Contador was the big winner of the day, finishing third and putting minutes between himself and the other top contenders for the 2015 Giro d'Italia.
General classification leader Fabio Aru, Richie Porte and Rigoberto Uran all disappointed during the monstrous time trial, and heading into the final week of racing, the Giro seems all but over.
As cycling journalist Kenny Pryde shared, the stage winner couldn't care less, however:
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Here are the results for Saturday's stage:
| 1 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team Sky | 01:17:52 |
| 2 Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Astana | 00:12 |
| 3 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo | 00:14 |
| 4 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale | 00:23 |
| 5 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | 01:09 |
| 6 Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana | 01:17 |
| 7 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto-Soudal | 01:25 |
| 8 Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek Factory Racing | 01:26 |
| 9 Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Giant-Alpecin | 01:27 |
| 10 Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 01:36 |
Saturday's time trial always seemed likely to be decisive in this year's Giro due to its incredible length―nearly 60 kilometers―and the high pace the riders suffered through during the first week of the Giro.
Inclement weather greeted the peloton in Treviso, and where once it looked as if the top time trialists would dominate this stage, it became clear Saturday would belong to those with the freshest legs.
Team Sky's Porte perhaps best illustrated this. The Australian is an excellent time trialist, but as shared by Cycling Weekly, he never showed up for this stage:
Uran suffered a similar fate, while Kiryienka and Luis Leon Sanchez had strong outings. The two were incredibly close throughout the time trial, but ultimately, it was the man from Belarus who managed to push the tempo in the final sector and grab the stage win.
Contador lost the maglia rosa after a crash earlier this week but was within striking distance of Aru, and given his proficiency at time trials, most expected the Spaniard to reclaim the top spot in the general classification on Saturday.
The Giro favourite didn't just do that―he dominated the competition along the way, as shared by The Inner Ring:
Contador Notebook noted Aru, who started last as the leader in the general classification, lost a lot of time on Contador in every sector:
Here's how the general classification looks after Stage 14:
| 1 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo | 55:39:00 |
| 2 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 0:02:28 |
| 3 Andrey Amador (CRc) Movistar Team | 0:03:36 |
| 4 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Etixx - Quick-Step | 0:04:14 |
| 5 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:04:17 |
| 6 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 0:04:50 |
| 7 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Astana Pro Team | 0:04:55 |
| 8 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 0:04:56 |
| 9 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff-Saxo | 0:04:57 |
| 10 Leopold Konig (Cze) Team Sky | 0:05:35 |
Aru remains one of the best pure climbers left in the peloton, but while Astana will have anticipated losing time on Saturday, handing Contador a lead of well over two minutes entering the high mountains is a recipe for disaster.
Tinkoff-Saxo are built to defend a lead and shield their star man during the final week, and despite an injured left shoulder, Contador is yet to show any signs of weakness.
Uran has over four minutes to make up, and Porte can kiss his chances of winning the Giro goodbye. But realistically speaking, so can the rest of the peloton. Barring another crash, Contador should cruise to Milan from this point forward.
Sunday's stage will be the final day of racing before the second rest day. The ride toward Madonna Di Campiglio should make for another day of attacking cycling, but don't expect any major assaults on Contador's pink jersey.
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