Stage 7 will be a massive disruption to the existing general classification of the Giro d'Italia as the race heads toward its first major summit finish atop Monte Blockhaus.
The 13.6-kilometre ascent has an average grade of 8.4%, but for almost 10 km, gradients remain above 9%, with peaks up to 14% before levelling out in the final kilometre.
The last time the men's race finished on the climb, Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) claimed the stage win over Romain Bardet and Richard Carapaz and went on to win the overall in 2022.
More recently, Blockhaus was the site of Neve Bradbury's victory in the 2024 Women's Giro.
In a race that is usually loaded with high mountain finishes in the final week, Blockhaus has the longest sustained section of double-digit gradients of any finishing climb in the 2026 Giro d'Italia route.
While other summit finishes are coming – on stage 9 to Corno Alle Scale, stage 14 to Pila, stage 16 at Carì and the queen stage 19 to Alleghe and the penultimate stage to Piancavallo, those ascents are less steep or shorter than Blockhaus.
What Friday's stage 7 lacks is any major mountains leading up to the final climb. The second half of the stage rolls into the hills of Pescara with plenty of undulations but only one categorised ascent, the category 2 Roccaraso ascent after 168.3km of racing.
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The stage is incredibly long, too, at 246 kilometres, making the Blockhaus ascent even more difficult.
Stage 7 will be a massive test for the relatively unknown Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious), the race's leader since his successful breakaway on stage 5.
Overwhelming favourite Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), with the Tour de France also on his itinerary this year, has a chance to erase his six-minute deficit to the young Portuguese rider with three swift strokes - the first at Blockhaus, the second in Corno Alle Scale, and third and perhaps most decisively in the 42-kilometre individual time trial on stage 10.
By the time he comes out of the ITT, Vingegaard could have quite a comfortable lead and be able to save energy for the Tour in the hectic final week, just defending.
Stage information
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(Image credit: RCS Sport)
(Image credit: RCS Sport)
(Image credit: RCS Giro d'Italia)
Start time: 10:45 CET
Finish time: 17:11 CET
At 244 kilometres, stage 7 is the longest and delivers both the first summit finish and the first GC day of the Giro. The day begins with a 51-kilometre coastal loop through Sperlonga and Gaeta before heading inland, where the climbing starts in earnest after 133km and doesn't relent until the finish line.
The final 80 kilometres pile on the suffering with the ascent of Roccaraso and the uncategorised Serra Malvone and Passo San Leonardo, but the showdown will almost certainly come on the Blockhaus, using the steep 13.6km-long Roccamorice narrow road with numerous hairpins.
Mountains
Roccaraso (cat. 2, 6.9km at 6.5%, max. 12%), km. 166.4
Blockhaus (cat. 1, 13.6km at 8.4%, max. 14%), km. 244
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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