The nineteenth Giro stage took the peloton from Mortegliano to Sappada. After a relatively flat run-up, three categorised climbs awaited in the finale. In a stage pre-labelled as an opportunity for the escapees, the peloton maintained a high pace in the opening hour. Edoardo Affini and Attila Valter were part of the first attack attempt, but they did not get any space. A lot of teams were aiming for a place in the right breakaway.

Moments later, ten riders did manage to form the first significant breakaway. Shortly afterwards a chasing group, including Tratnik and Tim van Dijke, also made the jump to the front. Behind them, the peloton dropped the pace. The escapees were allowed to battle for the day's victory. “I wasn't supposed to be in the breakaway today, but before I knew it I was riding in the front”, Van Dijke said afterwards. “In the lightning-fast opening hour, I had to go tremendously deep. It made me nauseous. But I knew I had to ride along to help Jan in the breakaway.”

The second part of the stage required climbing. On the first second-category climb, it went too fast for Van Dijke. Tratnik also had to let go of the new breakaway of six, including eventual stage winner Vendrame. The 34-year-old Slovenian, who could count on a lot of support from his fans near the Italian-Slovenian border, finished the stage in a chasing group. He eventually crossed the line in seventh place.

“This was definitely a day where I wanted to be in the breakaway”, Tratnik said. “A lot of other teams wanted that too, which caused a tough start of the stage. After the breakaway with Attila and Edoardo was caught, six riders immediately formed a new leading group. In the chasing group we never lost hope, which allowed us to close the gap before the foot of the first hill.”

“On that first hill, the Passo Duron, things went a bit too fast for me. On the steep sections Julian Alaphilippe was pulling solidly. If I decided to follow, my legs would explode. I decided to ride at my own pace in the chasing group. Also there we kept believing, but we didn't get a second closer. This result was the highest possible, but I can look back on this stage with satisfaction. I really enjoyed the support of the Slovenian fans along the way”, Tratnik concluded.