The Giro d'Italia heads up one of the most scenic sections of the western coastline, departing from Porcari and heading west through the historic Renaissance-era town of Lucca before making its way Northward toward Chiavari.
The fight to make the breakaway will be intense in the flat opening hour, but with an intermediate sprint coming after 68 kilometres, look for the points classification contenders to fight to pick up points before sitting up for the day.
The final 90 kilometres are peppered with short but tough climbs, starting with the category 3 Passo del Termine and category 2 Colle di Guaitarola, with pitches into the double digits.
The last 30 kilometres could see some GC action as the category 3 Colla dei Scioli comes 15km before the Red Bull Kilometre where important time bonuses are on the line.
After missing out on the maglia rosa by 27 seconds, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) will have to distance Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious) - who has held the jersey since stage 5 - if he wants to take the race lead.
So far, the Portuguese rider has been steadfast in the jersey, and Visma-Lease a Bike might be more than happy to let Eulálio's team control the race for now.
Vingegaard will have to keep an eye on Thymen Arensman (Netcompany Ineos), who time trialed his way to third, just 30 seconds behind the Dane and 1:57 behind Eulálio.
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Stage 11 will be a beautiful one to watch, especially the latter half which brings the race near the famous Cinque Terre.
Stage 11, 195 kilometres from Porcari (Paper District) to Chiavari could be one for the breakaway.
After a flat opener, including a technical 15km section between Lucca and Camaiore, the route follows the Tuscan coast northward to La Spezia where the second half of the stage becomes considerably more demanding as it crosses the Cinque Terre with the climbs of Passo del Termine, and Colle di Gualtarola.
After a quick descent to Sestri Levante, 158km in, the peloton will tackle two short and steep climbs Colla dei Scioli and the uncategorized Cogorno, the latter cresting 13km from the finish and a time bonus sprint at its summit. Leaving a fast, frantic run to Chiavari, interrupted only by a short climb inside the final 5km.
Mountains
Passo del Termine (cat. 3), km. 115.9
Colle di Gualtarola (cat. 2, 9.9km at 6.2%, max. 11%), km. 135.7
Colla dei Scioli (cat. 3, 5.7km at 6.4%, max. 15%), km. 167.1
Sprints
Red Bull kilometre - at the end of Corgorno climb (4.6km at 6.7%, max. 13%) - km. 181.4 - 182.4
Lyne has been involved in professional cycling for more than 15 years in both news reporting and sports marketing. She founded Podium Insight in 2008, quickly becoming a trusted source for news of the North American professional cycling world. She was the first to successfully use social media to consistently provide timely and live race updates for all fans. She is proud to have covered men's and women's news equally during her tenure at the helm of the site. Her writing has appeared on Cyclingnews and other news sites.
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