Giro d'Italia 2021: Stage 7 preview

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Stage 7: Notaresco-Termoli

Date: May 14, 2021 

Distance: 181km 

Stage start: 1:00 p.m. CEST

Stage type: Flat

The Giro returns to the Adriatic coast for a stage that finishes in the resort town of Termoli. From the start in Notaresco, the route heads east to the coast, then turns south-east along the seashore, heading towards the city of Pescara. The riders will turn inland before there, though, the roads undulating for the next 70-odd kilometres. The most significant test in this section is the fourth-category ascent into Chieti, but the rollercoaster ride continues beyond here, which will boost the hopes of the breakaway group of going the distance, at least temporarily.

That’s because, once the race returns to the shores of the Adriatic at Ortona, all of the day’s most significant climbing is done. Riding on wide roads hugging the coast, the sprinters’ teams should be able to reel the breakaway group back in quite easily. There’s a little hump of a climb at Vasto, but once past that the riders will have the sea just to their left all the way into the finish town.

There are a couple of rises in the final kilometre, but that shouldn’t trouble the sprinters too much as they seek to emulate Lithuanian powerhouse Tomas Vaitkus, who was the winner the last time the Giro raced into Termoli in 2006, edging out Paolo Bettini.