The Giro d’Italia 2017 Stage 17 is arguably the easiest of the run of 5 mountain stages this week. It takes place on Wednesday 24th May.
What a stage we saw on Tuesday – will this go down in cycling folklore as ‘Dumoulin’s dump‘? Having suffered from stomach issues in the past I really feel for him. Heat and upset stomachs aren’t good at all – especially when you are exerting that much energy.
From a personal perspective I got 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th on stage 16 (but no payouts sadly as my EW choices came in 4th and 5th).
Giro d’Italia 2017 Stage 17 – Stage Profile
Stage 17 is another long mountain stage at 219kms. The riders race from Titano to Canazei.
Thankfully, for the riders, the stage only has 3 classified climbs and none of them are category 1’s!
Wednesday’s stage starts out with a category 2 climb after 3kms of racing. This is the Aprica climb – 15kms at about 65.5%. The KOTM challengers and days chancers will attack here hoping to form a break.
Some 15kms of descending takes the riders straight onto the second category 2 climb – the Passo Del Tonale. The climb is 11.2kms at 6%. Once peaked the riders have 70kms of downhill! Look for the break to try to push their lead in this section of the stage.
The final climb starts at 131kms – the category 3 Giovo. This is only 6kms in length but is over 7.5% in average gradient. The remaining 80kms of the stage are on roads that climb gradually towards Canazei.
Of all of the mountain stages this looks like the one to have two races. The breakaway at the front contesting the stage and the GC riders some way behind.
Giro d’Italia 2017 Stage 17 – Favourites
Omar Fraile (Dimension Data) has a stage win already – now he wants the KOTM jersey too. Was prominent once more in the break on stage 16. Dropped from the break on the Stelvio on stage 17 and then fell back from the chasing peloton too. He may have to attack to get back into the KOTM fight after dropping a few places on Tuesday.
Pierre Rolland (Canondale) has been in multiple breaks in this years Giro – all of his efforts have come to naught including his late attempt at the stage win on Sunday. Has an outside chance of winning the KOTM so he is a strong selection for the break. The team are still seeking a win at this elite European level (they did grab a stage in the recent Tour of California). The team must keep attacking.
Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) like Rolland he has been in 3 or 4 breaks including on stages 15 and 16. He too has yet to grab that all important stage win. This might be the last chance he gets in this years Giro to go for a stage win. Possibly the biggest rival to Fraile and Landa in the KOTM battle. The fact he lasted well onto the final climb on stage 16 makes me think he won’t make the break on Wednesday.
Valerio Conte (UAE Team Emirates) came close to a stage win from a break earlier in the Giro only to crash inside the final km. Conte is a strong enough climber to force his way into a break.
Team Sky had 4 men in the break on stage 16 with Mikel Landa winning the Cima Coppi on the Stelvio. Landa is now smack bang in the midst of the KOTM jersey fight so he too could go in the break on stage 17. I have a feeling he will sit out stage 17 and go instead on stage 18 as there are more points available in that stage. I’m not sure they will send anyone in the break on Wednesday that has the chance to win the stage.
Giovanni Visconte (Bahrain Merida) – came close to a stage win earlier in the Giro only to lose out in the sprint for the line from a break. Was dropped early on the Stelvio on Tuesday but stage 17’s terrain looks better suited to his style of racing. Might now be utilised in a team role for Nibali.
Jan Barta (Bora-Hansgrohe) was part of the break that held a lead of no more than 30 seconds led for 80kms on stage 14. His team have been very aggresive in the Giro placing riders in lots of breaks. He is my pick for the team on stage 17.
Giro d’Italia 2017 Stage 17 – GC Riders and Outsiders
Break Outsiders
In this section I will select a rider from one of the World Tour teams that are out of the GC hunt. These are all riders who are way down on GC, have the ability to get over the two category 2 climbs and the power to propel a long distance break.
Kanstantin Siutsou (Bahrain Merida) is the lone exception to my above statement. He tried to get across to the big break group on stage 16 but failed and was quickly dropped by the peloton. Stage 17 may be better suited to him;
Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Lotto-NL Jumbo) went with Siutsou but also failed to get into the break on stage 16. I like the fact he is starting to be aggressive. This could be a late hurrah in his career;
Davide Martinelli or Laurens de Plus (Quick-Step Floors) and Jesus Hernandez (Trek-Segafredo) – their teams like to get riders in breaks and neither has managed to do so thus far. Long shots for sure;
Pello Bilbao (Astana) more of a strong man than climber but should be okay on the climbs on stage 17. Astana are still looking for that elusive stage win;
Tejay Van Garderen (BMC Racing) has been awful so far at the Giro. A stage win would be partial redemtion. The team is sure to send a rider into the break – Dylan Teuns is another option and one I might just favour.
GC Riders
If the GC riders attack this stage too then the final section of the stage favours the more powerful riders that can sprint.
Bob Jungels (Quick-Step Floors) – won stage 15 by out sprinting the main GC rivals. His team has the most wins on the World Tour this season and in this race (5).
Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) one of the faster men from the GC group and losing time in the high mountains.
Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) – could go for some bonus seconds. After the incident on stage 16 he could do with rebuilding his time buffer.
Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida) won on stage 16 thanks to his descending skills. He could look for a back-to-back win.
The one word of caution selecting a GC rider – even if the GC teams do force a fast pace the terrain is not hard enough to drop a huge number of riders. Expect 50+ riders to go to the line in this scenario and in that group could be one or two men who can sprint better than the GC men.
Giro d’Italia 2017 Stage 17 – Tips
I’m going with 4 riders for a rare (in this Giro) break away win.
Bet on Valerio Conte to win stage 17 with a 0.75/10 stake EW (1/4 odds top 3) at 29.0 with Bet365.
Bet on Jan Barta to win stage 17 with a 0.5/10 stake EW (1/4 odds top 3) at 301.0 with Bet365.
Back Pello Bilbao to win stage 17 with a 0.5/10 stake EW (1/4 odds top 3) at 51.0 with Bet365.
Back Laurens de Plus to win stage 17 with a 0.5/10 stake EW (1/4 odds top 3) at 67.0 with Bet365.
Bet here:
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