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2016 Giro d’Italia Stage 16: Valverde strikes, takes first win of first Giro

Kruijswijk increases lead to three minutes, Nibali suffers

Alejandro Valverde, racing his first Giro d’Italia, took Tuesday’s mountain stage, his 14th Grand Tour stage triumph. The first test back from the final rest day of the 99th Giro proved another highly entertaining day. Vincenzo Nibali’s nightmare second half of the race continued as Valverde punted the Italian off the podium.

Pink jersey Steven Kruijswijk (The Netherlands/LottoNL-Jumbo) increased his lead while placing runner-up for the third consecutive day. He is looking more likely to be the Giro’s first Dutch champion and the first Dutch Grand Tour winner since Joop Zoetemelk took the Tour de France in 1980.

The short but intense day began with a long, gradual downhill leading to a 21-km climb, one of the two Cat. 2’s Alejandro Valverde insists are Cat. 1’s. Cresting at the 64-km mark, the Passo Della Mendola led to another long descent of 48-km. The finale was the Fai Della Paganella, a short descent and then the Cat. 3 climb to Andalo.

Stage 16 was up and down all day.
Stage 16 was up and down all day.

The pace was very high over the first 50 of the 132-km with no one able to escape on the long descent. Movistar set a very high pace. On the Mendola first Ilnur Zakarin (Russia/Katusha) attacked and then several others surged up the road. Kruijswijk responded to the digs.

Finally a group got away near the top of Mendola and an elite group containing the favourites Kruijswijk, Nibali, Zakarin and Valverde but missing second-place Esteban Chaves and fifth-place Rafal Majka became the chasers. The pink-jersey group caught the break on the descent of Mendola to create an escape of 10, with Chaves and Majka 30-seconds behind. Orica’s men drove the Chaves chase, popping many off the back.

For the neutral, it was a sparkling stage.


Joe Dombrowski (USA/Cannondale) was called back to the chase to help twelfth-place Rigoberto Uran (Colombia). Nibali was the only rider in the escape who had a teammate. He was 39-seconds behind Chaves for second place on GC.

The Fai Della Paganella started with 20-km to go, rising 10.2-km at 7.4%. The pink jersey group hit the foot with a 41-second lead over the Chaves/Uran chase. Immediately, Chaves, Majka and Pozzovivo began to make inroads into the gap, as Nibali’s teammate fell away.

Among the fugitives, David Lopez (Spain/Sky) kept attacking. But it was a surge from Valverde with 16-km to go that dropped Nibali. Kruijswijk and Zakarin were able to find Valverde’s wheel. Valverde was only 39-seconds adrift of Nibali for the final podium spot.

The Chaves and Nibali chases joined and were 33-seconds behind with 12-km remaining. Digs from the Colombian and the Italian brought the chase closer before the peak, where the gap was 23-seconds. But Nibali lost contact on the 15% section leading to the crest.

The intrepid trio’s lead over the Chaves group was 26-seconds as the Cat. 3 began and 50 to Nibali. Both gaps increased as Zakarin worked hard. The Russian led under the red kite, with Valverde at the back of the threesome, thinking of the bonus seconds and the win. The pink jersey led out but Valverde would not be denied.

Chaves kept his second-place by 23-seconds. No doubt Valverde will be attacking remorselessly in Stages 18 to 20. Zakarin moved up to fifth from sixth and sits only seven-seconds behind Nibali in 4th.

The LottoNL-Jumbo rider looks unstoppable. Photo credit: ANSA
The LottoNL-Jumbo rider looks unstoppable. Photo credit: ANSA

The remaining sprinters are back at it Wednesday with a flat stage.
2016 Giro d’Italia Stage 16
1) Alejandro Valverde (Spain/Movistar) 2:58:54
2) Steven Kruijswijk (The Netherlands/LottoNL-Jumbo) s.t.
3) Ilnur Zakarin (Russia/Katusha) +0:08
86) Hugo Houle (Canada/AG2R) +17:21
145) Svein Tuft (Canada/Orica-GreenEdge) +18:05

2016 Giro d’Italia GC
1) Steven Kruijswijk (The Netherlands/LottoNL-Jumbo) 63:40:10
2) Esteban Chaves (Colombia/Orica-GreenEdge) +3:00
3) Alejandro Valverde (Spain/Movistar) +3:23
82) Hugo Houle (Canada/AG2R) 2:25:01
149) Svein Tuft (Canada/Orica-GreenEdge) 3:21:56