The 165km 15th Stage of the Giro d'Italia further distinguished the GC contenders on Sunday. The peloton began to reduce in number with Category 1 Passo Daone. An elite selection remained to decide the stage, and put time into other riders of the overall classification, by the start of the Category 1 summit finish of Madonna di Campiglio.
The original breakaway couldn't stay away from the main group, which was driven by Astana and Tinkoff-Saxo for the majority of the stage. Just eight riders remained in contention inside 6.1km to go, and Mikel Landa (Astana) won the stage solo by attacking in the final few hundred meters, going over the top of Yuri Trofimov (Katusha), and crossing the finish line solo. Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) was 3rd and Fabio Aru (Astana) was 4th. The next rider, Steven Kruijswijk (Team LottoNL-Jumbo), finished 38" down.
Rigoberto Uran did his best to stay with the main group, but was unable to maintain contact on the penultimate climb. He had teammates with him until the finish. David De La Cruz crossed in 32nd place, and Uran 34th.
The final rest day of the Giro d'Italia is on Monday, followed by a completely up-and-down high mountain stage on Tuesday. The 177km 16th Stage of the Giro, from Pinzolo to Aprica, features five categorized climbs, including a Category 3 finale.
"Today I didn't feel well since the start of the race," Uran said. "On the first climb I was struggling to stay with the first group. When they accelerated on the Passo Daone I really couldn't follow. I couldn't dig deep, I couldn't even breathe properly. I tried my best to hang on but I couldn't. Fortunately my teammates stayed with me and gave me a big help. I'm a bit sad because I counted a lot on this Giro. But I didn't completely overcome the bronchitis I suffered since the first stage. With the several days of rain it was really a lot to try and come back from bronchitis. The crash made things even worse. My will at this point is bigger than what is possible for me. The level at the Giro is really high between the competitors and the course, which means you need to be 100 percent for three weeks if you want to fight for the GC. At this moment of the race, with my condition, I am doing my best, but I have to face the reality of the situation. After today the fight for a high position in the GC is out of my grasp. We now have to look ahead with a different perspective. There are a few difficult stages in front of us. I will do my best to get a good result for my team."
