Gallery
Forming the Grupetto PN25-29
Due to the threat of snow on the higher elevations, the race organizers took out two of the climbs that were originally part of today's stage. However, they left in the long slough up the valley to the climb up the Auron. The thirty-kilometer climb in the cold rain, particularly after the last two days, was proving to much for the fast men of the peloton. As they approached the twenty kilometers to go signage, guys like Tibor del Grosso (Alpecin-Deceuninck), John Degenkolb (Picnic-PostNL), Max Walscheid (Jayco-Alula), and Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) grouped together to get to the finish as best they could. The Grupetto is what the large group of sprinters and others who suffer on the climbs is called. They work together to beat the time limit on any given stage. Oft times there is safety in numbers since the organizers are redescent to kick a large group of riders out of the race even if they do miss the time cut-off. It should be noted that Walscheid stepped off of his bike before the end of the stage finding the weather and the climb just too, too much.