Roglič lost the first battle, but the key ones are yet to come

As expected, the outcome of the strenuous mountain stage (203 km) with an altitude of 5,275 meters was decided by the 21.4 km long climb to Monte Bondone. All was calm between the captains until six kilometers before the finish, when Almeida pulled away. He gained a few meters of advantage, but it seemed that the five, whose pace was dictated by Roglic’s teammate Sepp Kuss, would catch him. But the Portuguese persisted, Thomas joined him less than five kilometers before the end and together they sped off towards the finish line.

The duo quickly gained an advantage, but Roglič with Kuss and Edward Dunbar on the wet road did not have the strength to catch up. The gap, which was already more than half a minute, was reduced to 25 seconds in the last meters and he reached the finish line third together with Dunbar. This earned him four bonus seconds.

Almeida is 18 seconds behind, Roglič 29

In the showdown for the win, Almeida crushed Thomas in the finish, who was left with a pink shirt for consolation.

The Briton is now 18 seconds ahead of Almeida and 29 ahead of Roglič in the overall total.

Bruno Armirail, the leader until this stage, lost contact 10 kilometers before the end and arrived at the finish line more than four minutes behind.

There will be a flat stage on Wednesday, and two more mountain stages on Thursday and Friday. The grand finale will take place on Saturday with a mountain time trial in Višare.

Jumbo Visma dictated the pace, but then remained with only two

Twelve escapees came to the last climb with a four-minute lead, but it was immediately clear that they could not win the stage. The Jumba Visme team, led by Rohan Dennis, set the pace. The Australian withdrew 14 km before the finish line, leaving Roglič with Kuss alone. The UAE Emirates team came to the fore with Joao Almeida. At a violent pace, the pink shirt fell off first, the escapees were caught eight kilometers before the finish line.

It soon became clear that the victory would be decided by the five, which included Almeida, Thomasa, Roglič, Kuss and Dunbar. Slovenian fans hoped that Roglič’s tailgating was just a preparation for an attack, but it turned out that the Kisov resident didn’t have the “right legs” today.

From Lake Garda to the mountain above Trento

The cyclists started the first five-star stage from the surroundings of Lake Garda, where 30 tunnels awaited them in the first flat 60 km, and then four passes lined up on the way to the finish line.

• Passo di Santa Barbara (12.5 km at 8.2%)
• Passo Bordala (4.5 km with 6.9%)
• Matassone (11.6 km at 5.5%)
• Serrada (17.3 km with 5.6%)

After a technically demanding descent, there was 10 km of flat land along the Adige River, and then the final climb:

• Monte Bondone (21.4 km with 6.7%).

106. RACE ACROSS ITALY

Stage 16: Sabbio Chiese–Monte Bondone, 203 km

Sections and maps and pictures from the start (photo: RCS Sport)

16th stage:

Sabbio Chiese-Monte Bondone, 203 km:  
 1. J. ALMEIDA         POR     5:53:27
 2. G. THOMAS          VB     isti čas
 3. P. ROGLIČ          SLO       +0:25
 4. E. DUNBAR          IRS    isti čas
 5. S. KUSS            NIZ        1:03
 6. I. VAN WILDER      BEL        1:16
 7. D. CARUSO          ITA            
 8. E. RUBIO           KOL         vsi
 9. L. DE PLUS         BEL        isti
10. T. ARENSMAN        NIZ         čas
11. L. KÄMNA           NEM        1:20
...                                   
14. A. LEKNESSUND      NOR        2:42
19. B. ARMIRAIL        FRA        4:24

Common order (16/21):

 1. G. THOMAS          VB     67:32:35
 2. J. ALMEIDA         POR       +0:18
 3. P. ROGLIČ          SLO        0:29
 4. D. CARUSO          ITA        2:50
 5. E. DUNBAR          IRS        3:03
 6. L. KÄMNA           NEM        3:20
 7. B. ARMIRAIL        FRA        3:22
 8. A. LEKNESSUND      NOR        3:30
 9. T. ARENSMAN        NIZ        4:09
10. L. DE PLUS         BEL        4:32