The overall contenders at Tirreno-Adriatico face a potentially decisive day on Saturday as they tackle stage 4 from Narni to the summit finish at Prati di Tivo. The 173km stage brings the peloton from Umbria high into the Apennines near the Gran Sasso d’Italia and promises to dramatically alter the look of the general classification after successive bunch finishes.
The climbing gets underway early on with the ascent of the Forca di Arrone and the bunch also takes on the uncategorised haul up to Rocca di Corno after 90km. The principal difficulties come in the final 50 kilometres, however, with the 10km climb to the Passo delle Campanelle preceding the 15km final ascent to the finish at Prati di Tivo.
Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) won atop Prati di Tivo this weekend last year and set himself up for final overall victory in San Benedetto del Tronto. The Sicilian is hoping to repeat the feat this time around, although he acknowledged that he is not in the same form as he was twelve months ago, given that he is building towards the Giro d’Italia rather than the classics.
“It will be a very important day that could decide the overall classification. There’ll certainly be a battle on the final climb and I have great memories of that from last year,” Nibali told Gazzetta dello Sport. The Sicilian was coy about his own chances, however. “I don’t know, we’ll see on the road. I feel quite good not like last year but I’m here to fight. The weather will play a big role too.”
Read also:
Chris Froome wins queen stage at 2013 Tirreno-Adriatico; Michal Kwiatkowski … (velonews.competitor.com)
Cycling: Froome takes Tirreno fourth stage and closes on lead (GlobalPost)
Tirreno Adriatico Stage 4: Chris Froome attacks late to win stage and move … (road.cc)
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