STAGE 5: Pedara – Messina 159 km
START TIME: 13.15 CEST
Technical Overview:
Reasonably short and easy stage, placed after a MTF and before having to cross the strait to get to the mainland, so it's definitely justified. From the town of Pedara, the peloton will race along the base of the volcano, facing some tough terrain, including two climbs, the uncategorized one to Trecastagni (2.7 km at 5.7%) and the one to Andronico S.Alfio (GPM4, 6.2 km at 4.8%). After a tricky descent, the peloton will go through a false flat section of around 13 km, before having to go downhill again, this time on a much easier road. Just after hitting the coast, the intermediate sprint of Taormina (3.1 km at 4.9%) will be the last difficulty of the day. From there on, a bit less than 60 km will lead to the finishing line of Messina, including a 6.3 km circuit to be done only once. The circuit only has a handful of turns, and has a pretty negligible 400m ramp at 5% with 2 km to go, before making a u-turn into a roundabout and going back the same way to the finish, on a 1.5km straight.
The Climbs:
Andronico S.Alfio GPM4
No profile provided. Looks like it is a pretty regular climb.
What to expect:
This stage is pretty favorable for a breakaway, with that rough start. However, the 60 km of flat at the end will help the sprinters' teams, in case anybody is interested in contesting the sprint.
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