Giro d'Italia 2021: Stage 8 preview
May 15, 2021: Foggia - Guardia Sanframondi, 170km


Stage 8: Foggia-Guardia Sanframondi
Date: May 15, 2021
Distance: 170km
Stage start: 12:50 p.m. CEST
Stage type: Medium mountains
The Giro’s second weekend brings two stages with 3,400 metres of vertical gain. First up is this westerly run from Foggia into the Matese Regional Park, where the route turns south to finish with a short, but steep finale at Guardia Sanframondi.
The stage rolls from the off, which should enable a breakaway to get clear. As this is the easier of the weekend’s two mountain stages, certainly in terms of the final section, the escapees should have a better chance of staying away and contesting the day’s spoils between them.
The first intermediate sprint takes place at Campobasso, on the last roll before the stage’s biggest climb, the 20km ascent along the Matese ridge to the second-category Bocca della Selva, which last featured in the 2016 race when Alessandro Bisolti was the first to the top. It climbs initially to the Colle Macchio, averaging between 4-5 per cent gradient for the most part. It’s second half is a little tougher, averaging more than 6 per cent. Although it’s long, it doesn’t look hard enough to cause the GC contenders any problems.
There’s a long drop from the summit, the route descending almost to sea level over 40 kilometres, before kicking up towards Castelvenere, where the second intermediate sprint takes place. From there, just 7km remain to the category 4 climb to the finish. A false flat to begin with, the road ramps up much more steeply approaching the finish, ramps reaching 15 per cent, which should suit punchy climbers like BikeExchange’s Simon Yates, UAE Team Emirates’ Diego Ulissi and Deceuninck-QuickStep’s Andrea Bagioli.
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Cyclingnews is the world's leader in English-language coverage of professional cycling. Started in 1995 by University of Newcastle professor Bill Mitchell, the site was one of the first to provide breaking news and results over the internet in English. The site was purchased by Knapp Communications in 1999, and owner Gerard Knapp built it into the definitive voice of pro cycling. Since then, major publishing house Future PLC has owned the site and expanded it to include top features, news, results, photos and tech reporting. The site continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative English voice in professional cycling.
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Tour de France Stage 9 Live: Can anyone stop Jonathan Milan in another sprint finish?
Another stage for the sprinters as the peloton tackle a pan-flat 174.1km route from Chinon to Châteauroux -
'You spend a lot of time with those guys' – Emotional Theuns reveals the bond of a Tour de France sprint team after Jonathan Milan's debut stage win
Belgian lead-out man helped Italian sprinter to a dominant win in Laval on stage 8, while another sprint lies ahead on Sunday -
UCl Gravel World Series – Femke Markus holds off Rosa Klöser to win Gravel One Fifty for elite women
Jordan Habets soloes to men's victory at home race in Netherlands -
How to watch the Tour de France 2025: TV, Streaming, official broadcasters
Where to watch the biggest race in the world this July