Giro d'Italia 2017: Thibaut Pinot Wins Stage 20 to Set Up Thrilling Tour Finale
UCI ProTeam FDJ's Thibaut Pinot won Stage 20 of the 2017 Giro d'Italia on Saturday, setting up a gripping finale to the Tour.
The result means Movistar's Nairo Quintana will start Stage 21, an individual time trial, in the pink jersey, although Team Sunweb's Tom Dumoulin, who is 58 seconds back on the leader, remains the favourite to win the general classification due to his skill in the individual discipline.
Dumoulin is in fourth position at the end of Saturday's ride to Asiago, which saw Katusha's Ilnur Zakarin finish in second place and UCI WorldTeam Bahrain–Merida's Vincenzo Nibali come home in third.
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In the general classification, Nibali is in second, 39 seconds back on Quintana, while Pinot is now in third, 43 seconds adrift.
The Inner Ring provided the results from the stage and the updated general classification:
Stage 20 Recap
With two Category 1 climbs to come on the stage, all eyes were on the men in the maglia rosa group, as the main contenders sought to put distance between themselves and Dumoulin, who should reel in the leaders on Sunday.
Belgian duo Dylan Teuns and Dries Devenyns moved to the front of the race as the riders sought to scale Monte Grappa, with the former over the top first to clinch King of the Mountains points.
Further back down the road, the contenders for the general classification resisted the urge to make any major attacks on the first ascent.
Per cycling journalist Mihai Cazacu, given what was to come, that was understandable:
The maglia rosa group didn't splinter on the descent, setting up an absorbing final climb of the 2017 Giro. Movistar, with Quintana expected to launch an attack, were setting a punishing pace as they embarked on the 14-kilometre rise.
It was Nibali who injected the first bit of speed up to Foza, shaking up the main group and putting a few riders out the back. However, after initially losing touch, Dumoulin did well to re-establish contact.
But there was little he could do when Zakarin and Domenico Pozzovivo moved away from the maglia rosa group to take the lead of the race.
Elsewhere, alliances formed between Nibali, Quintana and Pinot as they attempted to put distance between themselves and Dumoulin. But they struggled to muster an attack that stuck, with the Dutchman keeping the gap steady.
As noted by cycling journalist Scott O'Raw, there seemed to be a reluctance from Nibali, Quintana and Pinot to work together:
As the summit came into view, they did slowly extend the gap, with the trio eventually pulling out around 20 seconds on the Sunweb man.
On the descent, Nibali helped close the margin to the leading pair with a five-man fight suddenly emerging at the front of the race. However, with no man keen to take the descent on, Dumoulin's group were able to slowly chip away at their advantage.
Per cycling journalist Neal Rogers, it wasn't looking good for the challengers:
As the finish line came closer into view, the pace picked up at the front, and with the sprint for the line starting early, they pulled away again slightly. It was Pinot who proved the most adaptable, too, as he held off Zakarin and Nibali to take the stage win, as we can see here, per Eurosport UK:
Dumoulin, meanwhile, came home 15 seconds later, doing an excellent job of limiting his losses.
As aforementioned, Dumoulin is capable of making up minutes rather than seconds on the final day, making him the favourite to clinch the win still. Nibali, Pinot and Zakarin are also strong on a time-trial bike, while Quintana looks vulnerable despite his lead
But after a gruelling Giro, it'll be intriguing to see just how much Dumoulin has left in the tank in pursuit of his maiden Grand Tour title.
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