Stage 13

The road

At the start

The Alps, cut down by the snow

The Giro reaches the Alps, and the weather has already had its say: the state of the road off the Grand St Bernard has cut this stage to 74.6 kilometres, all of it in Switzerland. What is left is the Croix de Cœur — 15.4 kilometres at 8.8 per cent — and the long haul to Crans-Montana. Geraint Thomas still leads Primož Roglič by two seconds, and forty riders are already out of this race.

How it was won

1. 155 km to go

   Croix de Cœur

   Pinot storms over the Croix de Cœur 1:46 clear, then picks his way down a snow-lined, gravel-strewn descent as the maglia rosa group takes no risks behind.

2. 212 km to go

   Pinot lights the climb

   On the haul to Crans-Montana Pinot attacks first, desperate for a stage win before his career ends, only for Cepeda and Rubio to claw back each time.

3. 38 km to go

   Cat and mouse

   Pinot goes again with 7.8km to go but the move dies within a kilometre; Cepeda feigns weakness and infuriates the Frenchman as the trio play games.

4. 4At the line

   Crans-Montana

   Cepeda launches early, Rubio comes over the top to win, and Pinot is denied a farewell Grand Tour stage — taking only the small consolation of the mountains jersey.

The result