The Stage - The first of the Several summit finishes through this Giro D'Italia. And a crucial stage we will finally have a real test of form from the main contenders.
Is a rolling one even before the actual finish itself, taking place through the winding and perhaps most importantly stamina-sapping roads of Scilly, which gives a vicious farewell to the riders here. Caltanissetta is the official starting place and there’s about 80kms of undulation take that’s place to go west in order to each the grounds of Etna.
Vitally important is the climb before the actual ascent of Etna, which starts in Ragalna. The Belpasso only averages 3.2% but it lasts for 14.4km and that could well act as a leg sapper before the finishing climb.
The Climb - Goes through a different road to the summit finish that took place on Mount Etna last year, when the race finished at the Rifugio Sapienza. This year the stage finishes at the Etna Astrophysical Observatory, taking a much more irregular route where the gradients change very sharply from one kilometre to the next.
Technically it is easier than last year, averaging 6.5% for 15kms, but the first five kilometres are nearly 7% and the next two kilometres average 9%, before the gradient ’eases’ off again. A long block at 5.2% follows before the hardest part of the day, 4 kilometres at 8% including 500m at 12% to begin that stretch.
The final kilometre is 4.4%, essentially false flat in this context.
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The Contenders - Much focus will obviously be on the big four, mainly Sunweb’s Tom Dumoulin, Team Sky’s Chris Froome, FDJ’s Thibaut Pinot, and Astana’s Miguel Angel Lopez, who lost 30 seconds thanks to a crash yesterday.
Dumoulin took the Magalia Rosa with a fine opening time trial in Jerusalem, his best effort of the season so far, although he as finished just fine on both of the stiff finishes so far and he was 15th in Liege-Bastogne-Liege beforehand. He’s not had a busy season thanks to illness and injury whilst mechanicals have robbed him of s a chance to put a decent market down, so this is his first true test.
Froome has managed to lose pockets of time in the five stages so far but he was fourth in the Tour of The Alps, a good effort considering it was his first proper strike out of the season and this climb ought to suit – it’s what his team has been brought for – although it is perhaps unlikely we see his best so soon given the route and a potential Giro-Tour double bid.
Miguel Lopez had a crazy crash at the worst time and is now nearly two minutes down on current leader Rohan Dennis and thus Tom Dumoulin, now the hot favourite for the Giro after a fine first week. He has to make some ground soon so it would be no surprise if he made a bold bid for glory here and before the Giro he took the summit finish into Alpe di Pampeago at the Tour of the Alps when he beat many of these riders.
Thibaut Pinot took the overall at the Tour of the Alps and is even more lightly raced, so has to be considered just as seriously His strong sprint will help at the end of the stage and he’s been waiting for a chance to stake is Magalia Rosa credentials so far with a couple of handy bunchy finishes over the difficult stages so far.
Outside of those four Mitchelton have ridden beautifully over the past two days and Simon Yates could well have a stage win had it been for better timing and better luck. Yates has finished third and fifth on the last two stages and he took the last stage of the Volta Catalunya along with the summit finish of Paris-Nice.
EF’s Michael Woods was a fine second two days ago and last year’s Vuelta seventh has plenty of fine climbing form; This is a big chance for him whilst George Bennett of Lotto-Jumbo has recovered remarkably from a serious training crash and will find this finish perfectly.
Last of the main contenders is Domenico Pozzovivo of Bahrain-Merida, who has been in great form recently – indeed he out in a big push today to string out the bunch and help teammate Giovanni Visconti – and he was, of course, ninth despite that effort, the same placing he had received on the previous stage.
Of the breakaway contenders, Androni’s Rodolfo Torres is interesting whilst Bardiani have two shots to fire in the shape of Giulio Ciccone and Enrico Barbin, now leading the blue jersey mountains competition.
