Stage 3: Vezza d’Oglio - Trento, 122 km
Official start at 11:30
Expected finish at around 14:30
After two GC stages in a row, it's time for the first of the two expected bunch sprints this year's race offers up. Placing such a thing on a Monday is perfectly fine, so no objection from me there.
The start of the stage can't help but make you think back to stage 17 of the men's Giro in 2022. They began the day in Ponte di Legno on that occasion, whereas they are starting further down the mountain today, but the route otherwise the same until they reach Mezzolombardo after 84 km.
While the men then climbed the Giovo from San Michele All'adige and continued across Vetriolo to Lago Caldonazzo before doing Monterovere and finishing in Lavarone, the women will escape the mountains and instead follow the Adige/Etsch river towards Trento. An intermediate sprint in Cles is the only "challenge" to be dealt with in-between Tonale and the finish. There's a slight bend inside the last km, but it doesn't seem to be too noticeable, and a left turn with 300m to go. Can anyone beat Wiebes with Kopecky leading her out? I very much doubt it.
I understand why they aren't skipping Tonale completely, but I don't like that they aren't starting in Edolo and climbing it in full. It's the Cima Alfonsina Strada, so it hands out 25 points to first rider across it. Surely it should then also be the hardest climb of the race. However, I do like that it isn't placed during the final of a stage, but only because the other proper mountains in this race are MTFs. Now it gives a better chance for non-GC riders to win the mountains classification.
Who can we expect to go after the QOM?
Justine Ghekiere and Elise Chabbey aren't here, but another usual suspect in Lucinda Brand is. However, I'm not sure she is climbing well enough to survive to the top of Tonale. An uphill start should suit Petra Stiasny (hello LS), but question is whether she will make it to the front of the peloton before the break ahs gone. There were of course also many other decent climbers that lost time yesterday who may now switch their attention to this competition instead.