LUGANO: Orica-GreenEDGE will cross into a new frontier when the 98th Giro d'Italia tackles its last mountain stages before Sunday's sprint finish into Milan.
Ever since its creation in 2012, the Australian team has impressed early in the three-week grand tours like the Giro, Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana.
This year's Giro has been no different. The team won the stage-one team time trial to put Simon Gerrans in the pink jersey. Then teammate Michael Matthews took the jersey off him on stage two and extended his spell a day on stage three when he won. Simon Clarke took it on stage four for a day.
But in all the grand tours bar the 2012 Vuelta a Espana when Clarke won the overall climber's title and most combative award on stage 20, their presence has petered out in the second or third weeks. Although, this year's Giro is the first grand tour that Orica-GreenEDGE have started with a plan to have some impact – if not some success – in the mountainous tailend of the 21-stage race.
Wednesday's 17th stage from Tirano to Lugano was won in a sprint by Sacha Modolo (Lampre-Merida) from fellow Italian Giacomo Nizolo (Trek) and Slovenian Luka Mezgec (Giant-Alpecin).
It also saw Spaniard Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) keep his overall lead, as the Giro headed into the mountain stages of Thursday, Friday and Saturday and a sprinters' stage to Milan on Sunday.
Orica-GreenEDGE's plan is to get one of their climbers in the main break of the day, hope that it stays away to the finish and that they get to contend for the stage win. "Every day up until Sunday's finish is a stage our climbers will be trying for," Orica-GreenEDGE head sports director Matt White told Fairfax Media.
Those riders are Clarke, who made an impressive solo jump to join the break that was later caught in Tuesday's 16th stage from Pinzolo to Aprica, Dutchman Pieter Weening and Colombian Esteban Chaves.
Chaves, 24, represents a beacon of hope for Orica-GreenEDGE. He is a pure climber tailored for the high altitude peaks – whereas Clarke and Weening are suited to medium mountain stages or situations when they are in a break in the higher mountains that stays away – which up until Wednesday had still not happened.
The long-term hope is that Chaves and the British Yates twins, Adam and Simon – who are not racing in the Giro but will race in the Tour de France in July – will develop into grand tour contenders.
But at this stage of Chaves' development when he is in only his second grand tour after last year's Vuelta, he does not have the strength of Contador.
Chaves' chances are still reliant on escaping with an early break and hoping it will stay away.
Thursday's 18th stage from Melide to Verbania was pencilled in as an opportunity, with the highlight being the 10.4km first-category Monte Ologno with 47km to go.
But White also senses a chance in Friday's 236km 19th stage from Gravellona to the summit finish at Cervinia, and in Saturday's 199km 20th stage from Saint Vincent to Sestriere.
White is happy with where Chaves is, saying: "He is travelling like the vast majority of the field – tired. But he will definitely look to go in a move on Friday."
Chaves was up for the challenge as the last mountain stages approached, saying this week: "Normally on paper, I am a Colombian … and this is the climbers' week."
How those days unfold for him and Clarke also hinges on whether the teams of Contador or Mikel Landa (Astana), Fabio Aru (Astana) or any other overall contender will allow a break to stay away.
Another factor, says White, will be the desperation among teams that have not tasted success.
"Every day that goes closer to the finish with Astana or Saxo or someone who has already won a stage winning [again], it gets more desperate and aggressive to try and get in that break," White said.
Rupert Guinness is covering the Giro d'Italia as a guest of Eurosport. Eurosport is covering every stage live up until and including the last stage to Milan on Sunday.
