Stage 15

The road

How it was won

1. 167 km to go

   49.6 kph and attacks everywhere

   The shortest road stage of the race opens at a blistering pace on the Passo della Mendola. Zakarin, Nibali and Valverde all attack; Movistar and Astana isolate Kruijswijk, and none of it moves him.

2. 253 km to go

   Kangert flies the descent

   Nibali's Estonian lieutenant, up the road from an earlier move, drives the descent at the head of the favourites and stretches the gap to a distanced Esteban Chaves toward a minute. Howson chases almost alone for the Colombian.

3. 313 km to go

   Valverde forces it with 15km left

   On the Fai della Paganella the Movistar veteran makes the race-winning move. Kruijswijk closes it comfortably, Zakarin just makes the junction, and for the first time Vincenzo Nibali cannot answer.

4. 48 km to go

   Out the back door

   Chaves kicks over the steepest gradients at the top; Nibali is dropped for the second time in an hour and this time it costs him the podium.

5. 51 km to go

   Zakarin does the work

   The Russian drags the leading trio into Andalo while Valverde sits patiently on the back, waiting for the one thing he knows he has more of than either of them.

6. 6At the line

   Valverde's first Giro stage

   Approaching the final corner Alejandro Valverde comes off the wheel and beats Kruijswijk comfortably for his first ever Giro d'Italia stage win. Chaves limits it to 42 seconds; Nibali loses 1:47 and is off the podium.

The result