Remco Evenepoel vs. Egan Bernal RCS Sport couldn’t have dreamed of a better GC showdown.
You can’t blame them if race organizers of the 2021 Giro d’Italia are pinching themselves right now.
Nearly a week into the race, the battle for pink is shaping up to be Egan Bernal vs Remco Evenepoel.
Bingo!
Attila Valter (Groupama-FDJ) might be in pink Thursday, but Evenepoel is second at 11 seconds back, and Bernal in third at 16 back. Either one of them could carry pink out of this weekend.
The Giro a grand tour always living in the shadow of the Tour de France now boasts one of the most exciting head-to-head rivalries in cycling.
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The Giro d’Italia came to the boil Tuesday with a dramatic day in the mountains.
The rain-soaked stage 4 was a day of two halves with Joe Dombrowski storming to a stage win in Sestola and Alessandro De Marchi taking up the role of Italian pink jersey wearer.
Behind the pair, the GC battle flared up for the first time since the prologue with Mikel Landa igniting a tussle for time on the final second-category climb. Egan Bernal, Hugh Carthy, and Alexandr Vlasov were able to follow the wily Spaniard but there were plenty of big losers on the short, but punchy rise to the finish.
2021 Giro d Italia preview: Examining the three-week race for pink A Set the default text size A Set large text size
Replay A Set the default text size A Set large text size
After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2020 edition out of its usual spot in early May and transplanted it into October, the Giro d’Italia is back in its rightful place as the opening grand tour of the season, and the 104th edition of the race is sure to torment every one of its 184 participants.
With a relatively straightforward 8.6km time trial to kick things off in Turin, riders will then face a hellish next three weeks that will include seven mountain stages, featuring six summit finishes, and eight hilly stages, including gravel sections that will be sure to spice up the second week of the race, plus five clear-cut chances for the sprinters, with the race to be bookended by races against the clock.