It’s difficult to envisage anything other than a bunch sprint on the opening road stage of a Giro that, on paper at least, promises more opportunities for the fast men than they have received in recent years.
This 202km stage largely hugs the Adriatic coast, and the early climb out of Teramo looks an obvious springboard for the early break. The fuggitivi should then fight it out for the king of the mountains jersey on the climbs to Silvi Paese and Ripa Teatina before the balance tips definitively in favour of the chasing bunch on the flat and exposed final 70km.
There seems unlikely to be any deviation from the anticipated script here, even if the first road stage of the Giro has a history of generating surprises and polemics.
San Salvo, which lies just before the border between Abruzzo and Molise, hosts a stage finish for the first time having previously hosted stage starts in 2013 and 2020.
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Barry Ryan was Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.
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