Stage 15

The road

At the start

Montecampione, and a rule of history

Two hundred flat kilometres and then a summit finish with a superstition attached: every Giro stage that has ended at Montecampione was won by the man who went on to win the race. Rigoberto Urán holds pink by 32 seconds from Cadel Evans, Rafał Majka at 1:35, Domenico Pozzovivo at 2:11. Yesterday's crash took Pieter Weening and Kanstantsin Siutsou out. Fabio Aru, 3:16 down, has never won a professional race.

How it was won

1. 180 km to go

   Ten minutes for the break

   Twelve riders have been away since the first hour and their lead swells to ten minutes with eighty kilometres left. Neri Sottoli, who missed the move, decide that is unacceptable.

2. 250 km to go

   The chase eats the day

   Fifty kilometres out the advantage is down to 6:18, and by the first ramps of Montecampione the survivors of the break have only 2:24 in hand.

3. 310 km to go

   Deignan's lonely ten kilometres

   Philip Deignan jumps out of the shrinking peloton, sweeps straight past Arredondo and Cardoso and rides alone up Montecampione with twenty seconds, holding it until the GC contenders wake up inside 4km.

4. 43 km to go

   Aru presses at 3km

   Having already been chased down once, the 23-year-old Sardinian goes again with three kilometres left. Only Rigoberto Urán can take his wheel; Cadel Evans cannot bridge the gap and loses the race from there.

5. 52 km to go

   The acceleration that makes a contender

   Aru and Urán catch Rolland and Duarte with 2.2km to go, and the Astana rider does not pause for a single pedal stroke — he accelerates again, straight through them, and nobody can go with him. The first professional victory of his life, on one of Italy's iconic climbs, and suddenly a maglia rosa candidate.

6. 6At the line

   Twenty-one seconds at Plan di Montecampione

   Aru crosses 21 seconds up on Duarte, with Rolland and Quintana behind and Urán another 21 seconds back in fifth — the leader loses ground to his closest rival yet still stretches his lead over Evans past a minute.

The result