Watch all the best , with the Tour de France, Tour de France Femmes and much more.
Jay Vine all-in for UAE Team Emirates
General Classification hopes are over for Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) who lost over ten minutes on his GC rivals in stage 10 after struggling in the cold, wet conditions, and has lost more time since.
"I’m just here to make up numbers now," Vine said jokingly in an interview with Eurosport, before going on to say that he would of course try to the best of his ability.
Vine currently sits in 46th overall, 50 minutes behind current leader Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ) heading into the final week of the Giro.
"It’s been pretty attritional," Vine said, describing the first two weeks of the race.
"There are guys joking that we’re going to ride into Rome with only 100 riders or less. That’s what happens in a Grand Tour. Especially one that’s been wet 90 per cent of the time.
"You’ve just got to try and stay lucky. It’s unfortunate that so many teams have come in with the best-laid plans and have missed out."
As for his own plan going forward, Vine is happy to go all in for his team and support teammate João Almeida who sits in fourth overall.
"I keep getting told that I could probably still ride for a top ten but that’s uninteresting for me personally. In the ideal world my goal would be to lose 45 minutes and then be able to really target some stages," Vine said.
"The other part is looking after João - getting him on the podium or for the win is more important than a stage win for me. Whichever way the team decides, I’m happy."
When quizzed about his lack of interest in a top ten, Vine was pragmatic about what it takes to succeed in cycling as a career.
"It has no interest for me because it has no monetary value at all. I’ve signed for four years. Part of that negotiation was that top tens are meaningless.
"I don’t care. It might be great for the team or social media but wins, podiums, apart from that I’m happier to help João," Vine said before later revealing on Instagram just how tough the week has been while racing on antibiotics.
Given Vine's deficit in the overall standings, a sneaky stage win may still be on the cards.
Haig cautiously hopeful heading into final week hurtfest
Jack Haig (Bahrain-Victorious) is Australia's best-placed rider on the general classification. The 29-year-old now sites in 17th overall, seven minutes and 48 seconds off the winning pace.
"I’m slowly getting better, and it’s good to be optimistic," Haig said just a day after conceding minutes to his general classification rivals.
"Better to think that you're going to be good and be bad than thinking you're going to be bad and be bad," he added.
With a tough final week ahead, including three mountain stages and an uphill time trial on the penultimate day of the Grand Tour, Haig remains optimistic of a stage win.
Haig also mentioned trying to lose some time in one stage so there was more chance of being let away in a breakaway on another. But like Vine, Haig is also committed to protecting his teammates.
"We want to try and keep as many people as we can close and we see how we’re going into the final week. Maybe I can try for the breakaway on Tuesday (stage 16).”
Stage 16 is 203 kilometres from Sabbio Chiese to Monte Bondone. It finishes with an 18-kilometre, all-or-nothing climb certain to test the field before another high-mountain stage on Wednesday.
Berwick dreams big, nearly does a 'Bradbury'
, but it's worth covering again. A third-place finish in stage 12 is a sign of big things to come for Sebastian Berwick (Israel-Premier Tech), another Australian whose strategy included winning from behind, a feat he surely hopes to repeat again.
Halfway through stage 12, the day's breakaway split up with five riders getting a gap. Berwick was quick to join the group and they quickly built up a gap on the chasers.
At the top of the final climb, only two other riders were able to follow the fast pace set by the 23-year-old Australian. In the end, Berwick finished third in the sprint after an impressive day out.
“That last climb was my last opportunity I guess but in the end, they were strong enough to stay with me," Berwick said.
“I didn’t have much in the sprint obviously. 58kg versus 75kg, it’s a bit hard to win but I kept fighting.
"It’s a Giro stage and I was in the hunt for the win so you never know what happens. Steven Bradbury and all that.”
Clarke and Matthews keep on fighting
While biding their time between stage wins, breakaways and future glory, other Australian riders to watch out for are entering the third and final week of the Giro with their motivation high.
Simon Clarke (Israel-Premier Tech) has one eye on a breakaway victory and the other on celebrating the achievements of his team.
"Today wasn’t meant to be, we keep fighting," Michael Matthews said simply on Instagram three days ago, clearly keeping his energy for the mountain stages ahead.
After a rest day, the Giro d'Italia heads into the high mountains on Tuesday for stage 16. Watch the action live from 6.40pm (AEST) on SBS On Demand and from 9.30pm (AEST) on SBS VICELAND.
