Route: There's a brief opportunity for riders to get back into the swing of things, post-rest day, as the stage heads to and then along the coast. From there, it's up all the way; to more than 2000m. Ivan Basso took the maglia rosa on this climb in 2006, but that day finished at the Lanciano pass, and that's at 1306m. Today's blast goes right to the summit of the Blockhaus, where the last two kilometres are particularly testing.
Local Hero: We're on Danilo Di Luca's patch here, and it will be mayhem on the Blockhaus if The Killer is in contention; in fact, it will be mayhem anyway.
Procycling's top tip: Looking outside the obvious favourites, Rabobank's Denis Menchov, who has climbing ability and the sprint finish to make a difference, should be in the frame today as the Russian builds his condition for the Tour.
Savio speaks: Blockhaus is another beautiful climb, one day after Monte Petrano and will re-arrange the classification again. It's short but a stage that will send the classification up in flames. It's Di Luca's land; he won the race two years ago and will be out for the kill on Blockhaus.
Stage map
Stage profile
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'There's still room for improvement' - Remco Evenepoel not concerned about premature peak form after winning Volta Valenciana
No Milan-San Remo start planned after brilliant stage race debut with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe -
'I really put myself through it' - Zoe Bäckstedt loses the UAE Tour white jersey but impresses on the brutal slopes of Jebel Hafeet
Having shown her skills in the bunch sprints early in the week, Bäckstedt beat some climbers on the mountain -
'I still cannot believe that it's really happened' - Femke de Vries delighted with a breakout ride, taking third place in UAE Tour
'A little bit more training, a little bit more resting, a little bit watching the food and being more serious' brings Dutch rider a career-best result on Jebel Hafeet -
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana: Remco Evenepoel navigates chaotic final to secure overall victory as Raúl García Pierna wins stage 5 from breakaway
Crashes and attacks define short and punchy final stage, with Emil Herzog second and Jasper Schoofs third whilst Evenepoel wins first stage race of 2026
