Giro 2021:- Stage 12: Siena – Bagno di Romagna 212 km **Spoilers**

blazing_saddles
blazing_saddles Posts: 21,741
edited May 2021 in Pro race

Stage 12: Siena – Bagno di Romagna 212 km

Thursday, May 20th, 11.20 CEST

A very tough "medium" mountain stage, across the Apennines. Starting in Siena and crossing the Chianti region all the way to Florence. The route passes through Ponte a Ema [Birthplace of Bartali], Florence and Sesto Fiorentino [Alfredo Martini].



The route takes in a vertical gain of 3,700 metres, most of it is served in the second half of the stage. The riders will negotiate a succession of ascents: Monte Morello (with peaks exceeding 15%), Passo della Consuma (avg. 6% gradient), Passo della Calla (avg. 5% gradient) and Passo del Carnaio, featuring some challenging bits with gradients up to 14%, followed by a technical descent leading to the final 5 km.



The Climbs:









Final kilometres
Starting from 3,500 m from the finish, the last kilometres either descend, or are a false flat up. The route drops down quickly on wide roads, with several curves and hairpins, and briefly touches the centre of San Piero in Bagno. The final kilometres are dotted with roundabouts. The stage homes in on tarmac road.



What to expect:
The parcour seems perfect to establish a quality group for the peloton to chase. However given what we have already seen, this is by no means a certainty. Much will depend on how the riders are feeling after the previous day's racing. We could well end up with several groups on the road. As the finale is not extremely demanding, I suspect this one will go to someone from a large breakaway.
Good descenders can put their talents to good use in a 6 kilometres downhill before the last 3 kilometres are a false flat drag to the line.

Favourites 12th stage 2021 Giro d’Italia

*** Bauke Mollema, Fausto Masnada, Gino Mäder, George Bennett
** Davide Formolo, Diego Ulissi, Pello Bilbao, Alessandro De Marchi, Felix Großschartner
* Matteo Fabbro, Thomas de Gendt, Joao Almeida, Jan Tratnik, Simon Carr

Siena
Siena has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1995, owing to its well-preserved mediaeval structure.The main square, Piazza del Campo, is the mandatory starting point to describe the city. The square has a unique shell shape, and gently slopes towards the centre. This is where the famous Palio takes place.



Panforte di Siena is a traditional Italian dessert also known as Siena cake. The modern panforte variety is made with nuts, dried fruit, and a generous amount of spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.



Bagno di Romagna

Bagno di Romagna, in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, is a millenary village, famous for its thermal waters since Roman times and gateway to the Foreste Casentinesi National Park.



In Bagno di Romagna, the gastronomy of Romagna (famous all over the world for its fresh pasta, from lasagne to tagliatelle, from passatelli to tortellini and ravioli. The basis of the most distinctive dishes are local and seasonal products: porcini mushrooms, chestnuts, white and black truffles, sausages and hams, game, honey and handmade chocolate, mature or fresh cheeses. Among the latter, of particular note is Raviggiolo DOP, a sublime soft white raw cheese, to be enjoyed very fresh.



Among the creations in the kitchen, tasty is the chestnut, bean and potato soup; unique are the basotti, special tagliolini au gratin; ingenious, economical and distinctive is the unique dish of tortelli nella lastra, filled with herbs or potatoes; as well as the focaccia bagnese, the castagnaccio, the lattaiolo, all worth trying.



The Savio Valley, which from Monte Fumaiolo, where the river rises, widens towards Bagno di Romagna and stretches as far as Cesena before flowing into the Adriatic Sea near Ravenna, presents a splendid landscape, which, starting from the mountains and the rugged gullies, gradually gives way to gentle hills, furrowed by crops and vineyards that produce wines of the highest quality. In particular, at Mercato Saraceno, where it is possible to take a tasting tour of the local wine cellars.







"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
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Comments

  • phreak
    phreak Posts: 2,892
    Looks like it's another tough day in the offing. I wonder if the other teams are hoping that Ineos' domestiques get burned out by all the work they're doing and leave Bernal isolated in the final week. Ganna in particular has been really active thus far and Moscon is currently sitting in 15th on GC so has been working hard too.
  • skyblueamateur
    skyblueamateur Posts: 1,498
    Long range attack by Dan Martin putting 12 minutes into the group.......I can but hope :D
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,069
    phreak said:

    Looks like it's another tough day in the offing. I wonder if the other teams are hoping that Ineos' domestiques get burned out by all the work they're doing and leave Bernal isolated in the final week. Ganna in particular has been really active thus far and Moscon is currently sitting in 15th on GC so has been working hard too.

    Ineos are very good at sharing the workload equitably between their domestiques. Ganna's role will change next week, as he'll be used much earlier in stages whereas the likes of Castroviejo, Narvaez and Moscon will be needed later. Martinez has been fairly anonymous thus far, he could be the key man for Bernal in the final week.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,741
    Soler looks to be in big trouble after a crash
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    Big fight for the break
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 26,132
    Didn't realise it was such an early start today - took my eye off the ball there.
  • DeVlaeminck
    DeVlaeminck Posts: 8,719
    Soler needs the break to go soon
    [Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]
  • Lanterne_Rogue
    Lanterne_Rogue Posts: 4,091

    Didn't realise it was such an early start today - took my eye off the ball there.

    Same here. Soler currently being stalked by the medical van. Keeps touching his lower back - clearly not fully comfortable. Hoping to ride it off?
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,741
    If the break goes soon, it should be a fairly easy matter to regain the bunch. The trouble is that it looks nowhere near settled.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 26,132
    Looks like an ISN rider down?
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    Pretty bad crash - who is it? Being taken away on a spine board. Might be a Bardiani rider, purple jersey?
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,741
    Yup. Definitely looks like an ISN rider.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    Alessandro De Marchi
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 26,132
    Giro site says Dekker and De Marchi involved in a crash
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 16,646
    Looks bad
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,741
    edited May 2021

    Alessandro De Marchi

    Another really bad accident at a Grand Tour for him.
    TDF 2019 crash was a shocker.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 26,132
    Movistar car caught on cctv.

    Soler doesn't want to look up to the top left of the screen and see he has 178km still to go.
  • Lanterne_Rogue
    Lanterne_Rogue Posts: 4,091
    There's nothing in these roads that looks especially dodgy, is there?

    Horrible day for Soler given the pace up front.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 26,132
    If it doesn't get away soon, Bora will start thinking about the sprint.
  • DeVlaeminck
    DeVlaeminck Posts: 8,719

    If it doesn't get away soon, Bora will start thinking about the sprint.

    Thought you meant the finish for a minute !
    [Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,741
    A lot of riders getting dropped now
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 26,132

    If it doesn't get away soon, Bora will start thinking about the sprint.

    Thought you meant the finish for a minute !
    Sagan was a bit overambitious yesterday, so you never know.

    But only 35km to the intermediate sprint - peloton splitting. If any sprinter is behind, it's more bad news for Soler.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,741
    Apparently Masnada is 4kms behind the bunch too.
    Another blow to Remco
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 26,132
    Kelly talking sense. Let's have some chance to look at the scenery.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 26,132
    The break needs to have Sagan in it to survive.
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    Been a mental start so far. Don't really understand why they haven't let anyone go.
  • dish_dash
    dish_dash Posts: 5,551
    Soler abandon
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 26,132
    Strong group gets away - not even Bora pushing now.
  • dish_dash
    dish_dash Posts: 5,551
    Break has gone... 20 odd riders

    Apparently Dowsett has abandoned along with De Marchi (who crashed earlier)
  • dish_dash
    dish_dash Posts: 5,551
    Also Mader abandon! I swear I changed my PTP selection before I found this out!