After two weeks of racing at the Giro d'Italia, many were concerned that the general classification battle had misfired, was fizzling out. For those attempting to win the maglia rosa, there had not been a decisive attack, no significant moment by one rider attempting to grab the race by the scruff of the neck.
There was a fear that the biggest GC riders would leave the Giro with a sense of l'esprit de l'escalier, that they could have done more, that they would leave Rome on Sunday thinking that they missed a chance. Stage seven passed without a GC attack, as did stage 13, then stage 15.
