There's always an exodus of notable, mainly sprinting, talent before the Giro's critical mountain tests, and why not given there is nothing much to whet their appetite during the final week of the race. With the biggest climbs now looming, the sprinters will be determined to make the most of the two stage-winning opportunities they have left. This is the pick of them, so any break today is almost certainly doomed unless their lead amounts to more than a minute coming off the final small climb.
Procycling's favourite to win:
It's difficult to see past Greipel, Petacchi and Farrar, especially as several potential sprint contenders will be leading these guys out. Watch, though, for Androni's Alberto Loddo, whose 25th career win this year was his first ever on home Italian soil. The passage through Macerata may be a good omen for Katusha's rouleur extraordinaire Mikhail Ignatiev (right), who won there during Tirreno-Adriatico.
Distance: 206km
Vertical climb: 770m
Highest point: 301m
Terrain: Flat
Category: Road Stage
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Pan-Am Cyclocross Championships: Mia Aseltine and Henry Coote win U23 titles in Washington
USA dominates the U23 races with Alyssa Sarkisov taking silver in U23 women’s race, and Marcis Shelto takes junior silver for men -
Pan-Am Cyclocross Championships: Andrew Strohmeyer solos to elite men’s title
Eric Brunner takes second, Jules Van Kempen third in Washington, DC -
Pan-Am Cyclocross Championships: Lizzy Gunsalus edges Maghalie Rochette for elite women's title
Defending champion Sidney McGill takes bronze -
UEC European Cyclocross Championships: Inge van der Heijden leads Dutch sweep ahead of Lucinda Brand and Aniek van Alphen at elite women’s race
Van der Heijden led from start to finish on sandy Middelkerke course
