Stage 14

The road

At the start

Into the Alps, up to Oropa

The Giro reaches the Alps and starts steep rather than high: 165 kilometres over the Alpe Noveis and the Valico di Bielmonte, then the cobbled ramps to the sanctuary at Oropa. Rigoberto Urán leads Cadel Evans by 37 seconds and Rafał Majka by 1:52, and the climbers who lost minutes in the time trial — Quintana at 3:29, Fabio Aru at 3:37 — have run out of reasons to keep waiting.

How it was won

1. 1134 km to go

   Wellens starts collecting

   A 21-man move is gone from the gun, and Tim Wellens makes his intentions plain by leading it over La Serra for maximum mountains points.

2. 2120 km to go

   The crash that ends two races

   A pile-up leaves riders strewn across the road; Kanstantsin Siutsou and stage-nine winner Pieter Weening are worst hit and both will abandon. Omega Pharma ease up to let the injured back on, and the break's lead doubles to almost eleven minutes.

3. 369 km to go

   Alpe Noveis

   Wellens takes the points again on the first-category climb, Petacchi and Keisse hauling the peloton to within eight minutes without ever really committing.

4. 441 km to go

   Europcar and Garmin play their cards

   Roche leads over Bielmonte, and on the far side Bjorn Thurau drags Rolland clear before Nathan Haas does the same for Ryder Hesjedal — two leaders launched up the road towards Oropa.

5. 54 km to go

   Pozzovivo attacks the pink group

   Four kilometres from the sanctuary Domenico Pozzovivo skips clear of the maglia rosa group; Nairo Quintana goes after him instantly and the GC men finally show their hands.

6. 6At the line

   Battaglin twice from the dead

   Battaglin has been away all day and burns his last match catching Cataldo and Pantano inside the final kilometre — then the cobbled ramps of Oropa spit him backwards, and Polanc goes at 700 metres. It looks finished. In the last 50 metres the Bardiani rider grinds his way back up and past, a bike length clear of Cataldo at the line.

The result