Stage 14

The road

At the start

The first mountain that counts

Mark Cavendish took his third stage of the race in Cervere and nothing at the top of the standings moved: Joaquim Rodríguez by seventeen seconds from Ryder Hesjedal, Sandy Casar third at twenty-six. Today the Giro goes high for the first time — the Col de Joux, and then the long haul up to Breuil-Cervinia. Two hundred and eight kilometres, three and a half thousand metres of climbing, and nowhere left to hide.

How it was won

1. 146 km to go

   The Col de Joux takes the sprinters

   The Col de Joux is where this Giro finally goes high, and it takes the obvious victims — Cavendish slips away off the back — and one unexpected one, as mountains leader Michał Gołaś loses touch too.

2. 215 km to go

   Amador descends like a man with nothing to lose

   Bárta crests first and picks his way down; Amador does not pick his way down at all. Fifteen kilometres from Cervinia the Costa Rican has 1:25 and the peloton is seven and a half minutes adrift.

3. 311 km to go

   De Marchi gets across

   Alessandro De Marchi hauls himself up to Amador with eleven kilometres left, and a few kilometres later a spent Jan Bárta rejoins them and sits on, unable to do anything else.

4. 45 km to go

   Fog, rain, and Rodríguez

   The three leaders take 3:26 into the last five kilometres through cloud. Rujano attacks the maglia rosa group and is caught; Cunego drops away; and when Rodríguez jumps in pursuit the gap to the front tumbles to forty-five seconds with four kilometres left.

5. 52 km to go

   Into Cervinia, and Hesjedal gives nothing

   Pozzovivo tries and is shut down. Kreuziger has already been dropped. At the front of what is left of the race Ryder Hesjedal is simply there, on every wheel, giving nothing away — and a minute up the road three men decide to stop arguing and ride.

6. 6At the line

   Amador off Bárta's wheel

   Bárta opens the sprint too early and Amador comes past him for the biggest win of his career. Behind, Hesjedal takes the maglia rosa back off Rodríguez.

The result