Giro d’Italia Odds, Picks, and Best Bets for Stage 13 – Oct 16

• Stage 13 of the Giro (Friday, October 16) is a mostly flat stage with a twist, two steep climbs near the end
• Will sprinters win the day Friday, or can an opportunistic attack steal Stage 13?
• Stage 13 odds include the regular suspects and an interesting longshot or two

Friday’s mostly flat stage is the calm before the storm on this year’s Giro d’Italia. GC contenders should get sorted out on Saturday’s individual time trial, and Sunday’s major climbing day.

It is a little unclear how well top sprinter Arnaud Demare will handle the two significant uphills in Stage 13. If he makes it through he will be a major factor, but if not Peter Sagan and several other versatile sprinter/puncher types will be ready to seize the day.

Let’s take a peak at the Stage 13 odds and discuss some of the top contenders.

Giro d’Italia Stage 13 Odds

Odds taken Oct. 15th

It was the perfect combination for Jhonatan Narváez on Thursday, he was both strategic and lucky. Narváez won Stage 12 when he waited out the initial breakaway, attacked on the final climb, and his fellow attacker, Mark Padun suffered a mechanical problem. Narváez won his first career grand tour stage on a day that figured to go to a rider that was opportunistic.

On a day with nasty weather from the start, there was no major change in the GC standings. Joao Almeida continues to lead Wilco Kelderman by 34 seconds with Pello Bilbao another nine seconds behind.

Friday’s 192 kilometres path from Cervia to Monselice is largely flat. There are a pair of short and very steep climbs with about 30 and 20 km’s remaining. The finish line is on flat ground.

Who will win Stage 13?

The Favorite

This is the type of stage that Sagan has thrived on over the years. At one point he was a tremendous pure sprinter, but recently a mostly flat stage with some sort of obstacle or nuance is more to his liking. After finishing among the top finishers but failing to win a stage he finally got to the line first on Tuesday.

Sagan has not been a good bet this year, he has won just one stage and was shut out at the Tour de France. That said, he is riding well in Italy and surely has a trick up his sleeve on this course.

Top Contenders

In Stage 2 of this year’s Giro Diego Ulissi outsprinted Sagan on an uphill finish.

A veteran who has won seven stages spanning a decade, Ulissi took this year’s Tour de Luxembourg and was the runner up in the Tour Down Under and Gran Piemonte.

There have been four flat stages on the Giro this year and Arnaud Demare has won all of them. While Stage 13 is mostly flat, how well will he navigate the two short but steep climbs?

If you think the climbs are a blip on the radar, or there is time after them to have a traditional sprint finish, Demare is your guy. However, there is little question he is going to challenged and attached on the uphills.

Longshots

Fernando Gaviria probably is best in pure sprints, but a five time individual stage winner on the Giro, he is certainly capable.

He crashed about a week ago but has been able to recover and ride capably. Gaviria won the Giro della Toscana this year. He also earned victories on three separate stages of the Vuelta a San Juan.

Andrea Vendrame is competing in his third consecutive Giro and seeking his first stage victory. Last year he won the Tro-Bro Léon, and finished on the podium in the Tour du Finistère, and GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano.

At the age of 26, Vendrame is a good sprinter who has enough strength to deal with hills. He has finished fourth in several races this year.