Giro d’Italia 2023 – Stage 9

We are in for a long time trial tomorrow. The most important GC stage so far.

Route

35 km is a bloody long ITT.

Weather

The weather is more or less the same for all. There is a bigger chance of rain for the early starters. MyWindSock has 1.1% difference when it comes to the wind from 13:00 – 17:00. That is not a lot. Overall, it suits the late starters. They have the highest chance of dry roads.

Contenders

Evenepoel – today looked very odd. I seemed that everytime he came out of a hairpin, his gear was too high for him. Tomorrow is a new stage. He will start as the big favorite.

Küng – possibly the biggest contender. Since the route is flat, it evens the odds a bit. I would be surprised to not see him fight for a top-3.

Roglic – I think he will lose somewhere between 45 – 1m15 sec. I think it is a bit harsh on him, but he does not perform too well on long, flat time trials.

Almeida – A top-10. As you may know already, I don’t rate his time trial too highly. He was 3rd in the opening TT. I think he should challenge for a top-5.

McNulty – Same goes for McNulty – hopefully he has not burned too many matches trying to join breakaways.

Thomas – I expect him to be the GC rider that will lose the least amount of time to Evenepoel. I think he can challenge for the podium

Armirail – A top-10.

Hepburn – Another shout for a top-10. A real specialist.

Tao – Surpringsly good TT on the first stage. I assume he will lose more time than Roglic + Thomas. A top-10.

Dennis – a top-10 at most. A shadow of his past.

Stars

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Evenepoel
⭐⭐⭐ Küng, Thomas
⭐⭐ Roglic, Almeida, Tao G
⭐ Dennis, Armirail, McNulty, Hepburn

Who will win?

I will tip the favor towards Evenepoel. I think Küng and Thomas will get quite close.