The Giro d'Italia 2014 started in Ireland. The drivers expected three atmospheric stages and lots of rain. After that, the spectators were treated to a varied race in the motherland of the tour.
Stage #1: Team time trial. As expected, the big favorites from Orica GreenEdge secured the stage win and the pink jersey for their birthday boy, Svein Tuft.
Stage 2: Ireland is wet, cold, and windy. Nevertheless, it comes down to a mass sprint, which Marcel Kittel wins quite decisively.
Stage 3: Marcel Kittel turns 26 and is determined to give himself a birthday present. It turns out to be one of the toughest sprints of his career, and his rivals can't believe that Kittel has flown past them on the finishing straight.
Stage 4: In Bari, the riders are expecting higher temperatures but the same rain as in Ireland. The city center loop, which has to be circumvented several times, is neutralized by the riders themselves because the normally dusty roads become far too slippery. Nacer Bouhanni takes the stage win and is showered with kisses – whether he likes it or not…
Stage 5: On the final climb to Viggiano, Australian Cadel Evans gave his first glimpse of his ambitions and considerable ability. Together with stage winner Diego Ulissi, he broke away from his rivals by a few seconds shortly before the finish. That these gaps would ultimately be a drop in the ocean, with a twelve-minute overall deficit to Quintana, was something no one could have foreseen.
Stage 6: Cadel Evans and the man in pink, Michael Matthews, benefited from a crash four kilometers from the finish, which caused the entire final podium – Nairo Quintana, Rigoberto Uran, and Fabio Aru – to lose significant time. Evans thus became the temporary favorite for the overall victory, and Matthews won the stage and retained the pink jersey.
Stage # 7: For now, the last chance for the sprinters; and the man who had taken over Marcel Kittel's role showed everyone his back wheel in Foligno as well: Nacer Bouhanni is wearing red and will not relinquish the points classification jersey until the end.
Stage 8: The first true mountain stage takes the peloton over the Carpegna, the home mountain of Marco Pantani, who passed away ten years ago. On the very steep final climb to Montecopiolo, Diego Ulissi secures his second stage win. Cadel Evans, finishing fifth on the stage, takes the pink jersey.
Stage # 9: First stage win by a soloist from a breakaway group: Peter Weening rides around a traffic island on the other side than his breakaway companions, gains a few meters and maintains this to the finish... beautiful!
Stage # 10: As if there were no alternative for a sprint winner, Nacer Bouhanni takes his third stage win – with plenty of momentum on this super-flat stage in Emilia Romagna.
Stage 11: On the descent towards the finish, Michael Rogers attacks and is rewarded for his courage. In true time trialist fashion, he holds off the peloton by ten seconds to reach the finish line of a stage marred by numerous crashes, one of which also claimed Fabian Wegmann as a victim.
Stage 12: The first individual time trial of the Giro d'Italia, and everyone expected Cadel Evans to consolidate his lead. Instead, the cycling world sees the first Colombian in pink at the Giro: Rigoberto Uran.
Stage 13: Italian Marco Canola (Bardiani-CSF) took the stage win from a three-man breakaway. Even a heavy hailstorm around the finish town of Rivarolo Canavese couldn't faze the riders.
Stage #14: Slowly but surely, the week of decision is entering its final phase. The final climb to Oropa is once again dedicated to Marco Pantani, who is 1999 celebrated one of his last impressive victories, and accordingly finds an Italian winner: Enrico Battaglin. Some of the dominant riders of the coming week, Nairo Quintana and Domenico Pozzovivo, put the pink jersey under considerable pressure.
Stage 15: A climb with a 200-kilometer lead-up – up to Montecampione. The lead changed hands constantly here. The most irresistible performance came from the young Italian Fabio Aru. Rigoberto Uran lost a few seconds of his lead but retained the pink jersey.
Stage 16: A queen stage through four seasons – with a winner Nairo Quintana, who faced considerable criticism for ignoring a red flag on the dangerous descent from the Stelvio Pass and having built up a substantial lead by the final climb into the Martell Valley. Quintana claimed the pink jersey, effectively deciding the race.
Stage 17: Down from the mountains and towards Veneto – a final, relatively quiet day before the decisive three days of the Giro. A 26-strong breakaway group was given free rein today. Among them was Simin Geschke, who rode a truly fantastic and impressive Giro. He finished seventh on this stage. The stage winner was once again an Italian, Stefano Pirazzi.
Stage 18: The Colombian show at the Giro d'Italia continues, with Julian Arredondo emerging as a deserved stage winner. Back in the high mountains, he demonstrated why he wears the blue jersey of the King of the Mountains, triumphing on the mountain finish up to Valsugana. Cadel Evans lost further time and likely mentally bid farewell to his 2014 Giro d'Italia hopes.
Stage 19: Mountain time trial to the Cima Grappa: 1.600 meters of elevation gain over 26 kilometers – and of course, a Colombian wins. It's Nairo Quintana, the man in pink. But the star of the stage is Fabio Aru, Italy's reincarnation of Marco Pantani, who keeps the battle for the stage win exciting until the very last pedal stroke. Seeing Mario Cipollini on this particular course is no mirage; the record stage winner for this climb was filmed for Italian television.
Stage 20: The Zoncolan climb has become as much a part of the Giro d'Italia as Alpe d'Huez is to the Tour de France. The somewhat unexpected stage winner was once again Michael Rogers, who has transformed into a mountain goat in his later years. Today's guest of honor, Francesco Moser, will certainly never become a mountain goat.
Stage 21: It's over. Trieste awaits the 156 remaining riders, marking the finish of the 2014 Giro d'Italia. Luka Mezgec, another Giant-Shimano rider, wins the sprint, spoiling Nacer Bouhanni's perfect show. Nevertheless, Bouhanni secures the red jersey for the points classification without any real challenge, just as Nairo Quintana takes the pink jersey and, incidentally, the white jersey for best young rider. The blue jersey for the climber remains on the shoulders of Julian Arredondo. Rigoberto Uran and Fabio Aru complete the podium in second and third place, respectively.