Could it be three in a row for Ineos? With Richard Carapaz ensconced in the maglia rosa having edged ever closer to it since the start of the race, there is a serious potential for the British team to score its third consecutive Giro d'Italia this weekend.
The 28-year-old Ecuadorian took the jersey on stage 14 to Torino, when he finished in a select group just behind winner Simon Yates (BikeExchange), ending the hard-fought 10-day tenure of Juan Pedro López (Trek-Segafredo).
Carapaz would follow in the wheelmarks of Egan Bernal (2021) and Tao Geoghegan Hart (2020), and it would also be a double for the Ecuadorian, who himself won in 2019 with Movistar.
"The chance to take the jersey was a motivation for us," Carapaz said after stage 14. "It's better to have to defend the jersey than to have to attack to get it."
However, with Carapaz only able to lay claim to a seven-second GC lead, the Ineos prosecco corks will remain resolutely (and safely) in their bottles for the time being. In fact, with the top five riders on GC separated by just 61 seconds, the race was far from finished as it entered its second rest day.
Denne historien er fra May 26, 2022-utgaven av CYCLING WEEKLY.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra May 26, 2022-utgaven av CYCLING WEEKLY.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
CLASSIC BIKE COLNAGO SUPER
A trailblazing bike immortalised by Merckx and Saronni
"Strava activities are the only way I know some of my friends are still alive"
...or that Bernard is doing his weekly shop
AN EXPERT'S TAKE ON... SADDLE SELECTION
Crucial advice to guide your next purchase
JUST A NUMB#R?
Approaching a landmark birthday, Charlie Graham-Dixon explores how ageing affects cycling performance and what can be done to stay ahead of the curve
RURAL PERIL
More UK cyclists are killed on rural lanes than on busy city streets. Rob Kemp investigates why and what can be done to keep us safe while riding in the countryside
A BLESSED RIDE THROUGH THE FOREST OF BOWLAND
Forgoing cloak, cassock and cross, Trevor Ward goes in search of the holy roads that helped make a Tour winner
Dame Sarah Storey claims road and 19th gold double
More success for Team GB's Paralympians in Paris, but Storey slams women's time trial course
Roglič matches Vuelta win record
Slovenian takes fourth Tour of Spain title after hunting down O'Connor's lead, writes Adam Becket
Williams crowned Tour of Britain champion
Welshman leads home resurgence at the stage race to crown an Israel-Premier Tech clean sweep, reports Tom Davidson in Felixstowe
CLASSIC BIKE CLAUD BUTLER OLYMPIC ROAD
Iconic British brand's Holdsworth-era road bike