Bassano del Grappa hosted the start of a mountain time trial to Cima Grappa back in 2014. Nairo Quintana took the spoils ahead of Fabio Aru with Rigoberto Uran more than 1 minute in arrears. Yes, those were different times.
This time the riders set off from the medieval city for a race in line. The first obstacle is the massive Forcella Valbona and the second the enormous Monte Bondone. Both amounting to more than 20 kilometres, the average gradient of these climbs sits at almost 7%.
The riders tackle the Passo Durone, which is the shortest climb of the day, but still almost 10 kilometres. The average gradient on the Durone is 6%.
The descent leads onto a 20 kilometres long false flat before the final haul up to Madonna di Campiglio kicks in. The ski resort lies at the end of a 15.5 kilometres climb with an average gradient of 5.9%.
The 2015 Giro moved through Madonna di Campiglio to finish 3 kilometres higher up the mountain near Rifugio Patascoss. Mikel Landa soloed to victory after forcing a gap in the last part of the ascent.
The intermediate sprint at kilometre 185.5 comes with 3, 2 and 1 seconds, while time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds are awarded to the first three riders on the line.
Another interesting read: result 17th stae 2020 Giro d’Italia.
Giro d’Italia 2020 stage 17: routes, profiles, more
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