In the thirteenth stage of the Giro d’Italia, the sprinters seem to be on the move again. The ride from San Remo has one climb, which is far from the finish in Cuneo. Nevertheless, Mathieu van der Poel’s team has opportunities to avoid a typical sprinter’s ride.

After 54 kilometers the riders already reach the top of the Colle di Nava, the only climb of the day. The peloton then moves on to a plateau as far as Cuneo. The last 100 kilometers are almost flat.

Although the second part seems ideal for fast men like Arnaud Démare and Fernando Gaviria, it is conceivable that teams will avoid a bunch sprint. On the climb of the Colle di Nava (10.1 kilometers at 6.7 percent) they can encourage the sprinters to release.

One of the teams that benefits from this is Alpecin-Fenix. Since leader Van der Poel usually digests climbs better than other fast men, it is quite possible that the Belgian team accelerates here.

They did that earlier in the fifth stage, when Mark Cavendish and Caleb Ewan, among others, had to pass on the only climb of the day. Démare also had to release briefly in that stage, but still won the stage after coming back with the help of his teammates.

Eyes on bunch sprint on Démare

It remains to be seen whether Alpecin-Fenix ​​actually has a plan and whether other teams are willing to cooperate. If that is not the case, there is a chance that it will still be a sprint with a large peloton. In that case, Démare is the big favorite.

The Frenchman has already won two stages in this Giro and is wearing the points jersey. Now that Ewan has given up, he has also lost an important competitor. In addition, Cavendish does not seem to be in top shape uphill, which means that he probably cannot participate for the stage victory in Cuneo.

Official start: 13.35 hrs
Expected finish time: 5.15 pm
Favorites for day success:
⭐⭐⭐ Arnaud Demare
⭐⭐ Mathieu van der Poel, Fernando Gaviria
⭐ Alberto Dainese, Thomas De Gendt, Mauro Schmid

Michael van Gerwen was immediately eliminated on Thursday evening during the fifteenth Premier League round. The three-time world champion was no match for Michael Smith in London: 6-5.

Both darters did not reach a high level in the O2 Arena. Van Gerwen achieved, among other things, a higher average (more than 92 to more than 85), but fell short in terms of finish percentage (more than 33 percent at 37.5 percent).

De Brabander was behind the facts from the start against Smith, who went through 3-0 to 5-2. Van Gerwen then won three legs in a row, but saw his comeback fail in the eleventh and final leg, missing three match darts.

Van Gerwen could afford the defeat, because he was already certain of a place in the final round of the Premier League, in which the numbers one to four participate. Van Gerwen is second, behind Jonny Clayton.

Clayton reached the final in London, but lost to Joe Cullen (6-4). The Englishman jumped to the important fourth place thanks to the victory over Peter Wright. James Wade is number three in the standings.

Next Thursday is the last regular round in Newcastle, after which the best four darts players will compete for the title on Monday 13 June in Berlin.