Cycling: Giro d'Italia final week preview

After two weeks of racing, Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin has built a solid lead at the top of the Giro d'Italia general classification, but everybody is wondering whether he can hold on to that lead until the end of the race. There are just six stages left, and each of those stages can bring significant changes in the general classification. Pre-race favourite Nairo Quintana is 2 minutes and 41 seconds behind Dumoulin, while French rider Thibaut Pinot is third with a deficit of 3 minutes and 21 seconds. Former winner Vincenzo Nibali is fourth at 3 minutes and 40 seconds. So far Tom Dumoulin has done well on the climbs, but the next stages will be more difficult than what he has faced in the first two weeks combined. Tuesday's stage 16 from Rovetta to Bormio features three massive first-category climbs and is also pretty long at 222.2 km. Movistar and Bahrain Merida, the teams of Quintana and Nibali, will surely try to make life difficult for Dumoulin and they will probably force the pace on the first two climbs in order to leave Dumoulin without any team-mates on the final climb of the day. Stage 17 on Thursday features four climbs, two first-category ascents and two classified as second category, and that will be yet another testing day for the general classification contenders. The climbers will also have their chances on Friday and Saturday when we'll have another pair of stages with first-category climbs. Tom Dumoulin could lose the pink jersey until Sunday, but this year's novelty is that the last stage won't be an easy one: it will be an individual time-trial of just over 29 kilometers. Dumoulin has won the first time-trial of this year's Giro and it is extremely likely that he will win Sunday's stage as well. The bookmakers see Tom Dumoulin as favourite for the general classification victory now, he is 4/7 at Bet365 to win the Giro, Nairo Quintana is 13/8 and Vincenzo Nibali is 16/1.