Greig Leach

With the top of the Giro and the Primo Coppi in sight, Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) was caught by the charging Mikel Landa (Astana). Before the thousands who had gotten themselves up to watch the hard men in spandex summit this illustrious climb, the pair road shoulder to shoulder on the rutted dirt and mud track. Poor Zakarin, who had labored alone up most of the tortured ascent, Landa nipped around the Russian just as the reached the high point of the race. For the pair, it was now time to get back down off of the mountain as fast as possible. Fortunately, the back side of the Colle Delle Finestre featured a well paved smooth road. Reaching the kind of speeds that they were about to obtain and then cornering on this dirt track could well have been disastrous. The tight corners and high speeds on the tarmac were dangerous enough.