Stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia from a zoomed out view of the profile looks as if it could be a day for the sprinters, but there is one problem for them that appears upon closer inspection: the Muro di Ca’ del Poggio that comes inside 10km to go.
Although it's only 1.1km long, this wall averages 11.3% with pitches of 19% - a brutal climb late in the 171 kilometre stage to Pieve di Soligo.
The stage might be where the maglia ciclamino is decided as the climb is similar to the Muro de Fermo on stage 8 to Chieti won by Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).
The Ecuadorian - winner of three stages - snatched the ciclamino jersey in a back-and-forth battle with sprinter Paul Magnier (Soudal-Quickstep) on Wednesday, and now leads the Frenchman by 12 points.
Thursday's stage 18 is classified as low difficulty, and as such, the points available on the line are 50, 35, 25, 18, 14, 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 for the top 15.
If Magnier can't make it over the climb with Narváez, he could lose all hope of winning the competition. However, Narváez had to use a lot of energy in the breakaway on Wednesday, so UAE could opt to let a non-threatening breakaway go.
Alternatively, the Muro could be a place for opportunists to jump away from a day-long breakaway or even a launching pad for an attack on GC leader Jonas Vingegaard.
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Or, it could even be a place where Vingegaard plays domestique to deliver Davide Piganzoli or Sepp Kuss to the victory, as promised.
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(Image credit: RCS Sport)
(Image credit: RCS Sport)
Start time: 13:15 CET
Finish time: 17:14 CET
Stage 18 heads southeast into the Veneto region for a finish in Pieve di Soligo for another transition stage.
Passing through the hilly Prosecco vineyards, the 171km route rolls through continuous undulating terrain, first in the Adige valley and then the Brenta valley towards the short climb of the Scale di Primolano to enter the Piave valley.
After Valdobbiadene, 126km in, a series of sharp kickers softens up the legs ahead of the category 4 Ca' del Poggio, a short, steep climb with pitches of 19% and 16% that crests 9km from the finish, leaving a fast downhill charge to the line.
Mountains
Fastro (Le Scale di Primilano) (cat. 3), km. 87.7
Muro di Ca’ del Poggio (cat. 4, 1.1km at 12.3%, max. 19%), km. 161.7
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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