Just looking at the stages again now; loving stage 5 more and more. In fact the entire first week is near perfect imo, although maybe stage 9 could be a little tougher (in terms of steepness to guarantee time gaps).
Stage 10 is great, but then a little GC lull perhaps through 11-13, especially with the ITT after that. Great that the tough MTF comes after it of course.
Stage 16 is pretty good, and stage 17 intrigues me greatly. Studying those climbs a little closer, the first half of this stage is terribly tough! Checking back to the profile of stage 19 from 2018, and I think that when you combine Valbona and Bondone, if raced hard they could prove almost as decisive as Finestre. The profile after these climbs is also slightly similar to the Froome stage, with plenty of climbing, though not quite as hard. I just wonder if someone will be able to try going crazy long range on this.
Of course the profile of stage 18 says no, but well, stage 20 in 2018 was very tough too (3 big climbs), so if someone is in a Froome type of time deficit and has decent legs, then stage 17 could be a classic. If there is the chance of stage 18 or 20 being altered or cancelled at that point in time, it will increase the chances of aggression on this stage ten-fold too, obviously. As it is, I wonder if this final week would be better with an easier stage on stage 18 (with the current stage 18 put one day before stage 20)?