Friday's stage of the Giro d'Italia at first looks straight forward for 180km from Rovigo to Vicenza, but the final 1.1km ascent of Monte Berico should prove to be as volatile as a quaking volcano. The GC riders all need to be alert.
The climb past the Santuario della Madonna di Monte Berico is actually made twice on the final 20.3km loop, but it is the second ascent that culminates with the finish line. A decade ago the same finishing climb saw Philippe Gilbert power up the ascent and shake off maglia rosa Alberto Contador for the victory.
This time into Vicenza Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) carries the maglia rosa, and his teammate Juan Ayuso holds second overall just 31 seconds back. The mainly flat terrain should allow UAE to keep the four adversaries within two minutes of the lead - Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious), Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike), Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) - from disrupting the GC composition.
The first 130km are flat except for one small category 4 climb at kilometre 31.5 at Passo Roverello in the Euganean Hills. From there, with 60 km to go, the race enters the Berici Hills for a series of rolling climbs, including San Giovanni in Monte.
The last 3km are flat until 1,200 m to go, where the incline reaches gradients of 10-12%. Just across the top only 300 metres remain for the finish line itself.
"Tomorrow, the finish will for sure be a bit nervous, and we will need to be in the front," Giulio Ciccone of Lidl-Trek said. "I think it's not a day for GC, but anyway, we need to be there and not take risks or leave a gap because for sure there can be a split in the final."
Climbs
- Passo Roverello (cat. 4), km. 31.9
- San Giovanni in Monte (cat. 4), km. 135.5
- Vicenza (cat. 4), km. 180
Sprints
- Sprint 1 - Noventa Vicentina, km. 50.6
- Sprint 2 - San Bonifacio, km. 93.8
- Time bonus sprint - Arcugnano, km. 169.6
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