The Five Best Mountain Stages Of the 2018 Giro

The five mountain stages that decided the 2018 Giro d'Italia.

Apr 29, 2020 by Michael Sheehan

The Five Best Mountain Stages Of the 2018 Giro

At the end of the day, the Giro d’Italia is a showcase of the most dramatic, epic and arduous mountains that Italy has to offer. The Giro’s placement on the calendar at the end of spring adds an extra element of unpredictability to the race’s high altitude challenges.

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The Giro organizers throw practicality to the wind when planning the parcours, sending racers up mountain passes that are often still lined with snow banks.

The intended courses do not always come together in the volatile spring alpine weather, but when they do, the mountain stages of the Giro are unlike those of any other tour.

The mountains of the 2018 Giro laid the foundation for one of the best general classification battles of all time.

Read on to revisit the mountains that shaped the 2018 Giro.

Stage 6

Mount Etna was the first mountain challenge in the 2018 Giro d’Italia and it set the tone for what would be seen for much of the race.

Simon Yates blasted out of the peloton in the closing kilometers, joining forces with his Mitchelton-Scott teammate Esteban Chaves to take the maglia rosa. Yates appeared infallible on the climb, but conceded victory to Chaves, who had been in the breakaway all day, prior to helping Yates stave off the peloton.

Stage 6 was the first in a series of unprecedentedly dominant summit finishes by Yates.

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Stage 9

The Gran Sasso d’Italia is a relatively safe inclusion for the Giro d’Italia organisers. Situated in the middle of the country amongst the modest Apennine mountain range, it does not bring the same risk of impassable weather conditions as the high Alpine mountains.

Make no mistake though, the Gran Sasso is a massive mountain. It towers disproportionately above its neighbouring peaks, which only makes it look that much more fearsome.

Simon Yates remained unphased by the size of the final climb, matching the accelerations of his competitors, and sprinting across the line to win the stage with apparent ease.

The 2018 ascent of Gran Sasso also highlighted the tenacity of a young Guilio Ciccone, who would win the mountains classification in the Giro d’Italia the following year.

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Stage 14

Monte Zoncolon promises fireworks whenever it is included in the Giro. 2018’s ascent was no exception. Up to this point, Simon Yates had appeared untouchable in summit finishes, but on the steep slopes of the Zoncolon, the tides began to turn.

With just over four kilometers to go, Wout Poels put the remains of the peloton under immense pressure, setting Chris Froome up for a classic eye watering increase in pace.

Froome would solo to victory, but a tenacious Simon Yates fought his way back through roaring crowds to finish just six seconds back. At the time, this stage looked to be a consolation prize for a Giro gone wrong for Froome. Who could have known that Froome was only just getting started?

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Stage 19

Stage 19 will go down as one of the greatest moments in cycling history. Midway through the stage, riders had to go over the Colle delle Finestre, the highest pass of the 2018 Giro, which features rugged unpaved roads on the mountain’s upper slopes. Team Sky’s plan was the cycling equivalent of a Hail Mary pass. They lined it up with 90 kilometers to go, and with 80 kilometers remaining Chris Froome launched himself out of the peloton, never to be seen again.

Froome overcame a 3 minute and 22 second deficit to take the maglia rosa in a comeback unlike anything the sport has seen in the modern day.

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Stage 20

Stage 20 took the riders from Susa to the final mountaintop finish of the race in Cervinia. With a sprint stage to close out the tour, stage 20 was Tom Dumoulin’s last opportunity to take the maglia rosa. Dumoulin threw everything he had at the final climb, but the defending champion was no match for the form that Chris Froome had found in the second half of the Giro.