Time to get the ball rolling for tomorrow’s stage. You know who wrote it (not me).
The second week kicks off with an underrated MTF. No, it isn’t exactly brutal, but contrary to what some people would have you believe, it also isn’t anywhere near the likes of Montevergine, Mégève or Laguna Negra.
The route
The first week ended in the Naples metropolitan area, and that’s where we still are for the start of the second week. Pompeii has been immortalized in Western culture just as much as it was immortalized two millennia ago by the Vesuvius. Of course, it’s rather possible that the GC battle, too, will feel like it died and was buried ages ago by the time this stage rolls around, but let’s hope that that irony doesn’t come to pass.
The first 45 kilometres are flat, bad news for any climbers wanting to get into the breakaway but it isn’t out of the question that nothing has stuck by the time the road rises for the first time, to the intermediate sprint at Arpaia.
Next up is the uncategorised climb to Bivio Taburno. For no apparent reason we’re on random back roads, making for a steep climb, and yet despite that effort there are no KOM points.
The first climb that actually hands out KOM points is Camposauro, one of the best passes in the area, although this is the easier side. At the pass, there is also a dead-end road which would make for a HC MTF and there’s plenty of space at the summit… hopefully, a story for a future Giro.
The penultimate climb is to Guardia Sanframondi, where Victor Lafay won the stage in 2022. For some reason, the route taken into town, while partially the same, is significantly tougher overall – why did they not use this variant as the HTF/MTF back then? Oh, and the Intergiro is here for some reason.
Following a rolling section, the riders reach Cusano Mutri, which is paying for the finish and has gotten the bonus second sprint as part of the deal. The MTF itself is officially 20.9k at a lowly 4.6%, but for unclear reasons that figure includes 3 flat kilometres before the road actually goes uphill – the actual climb is therefore 17.9k at 5.4%. Moreover, the hardest stuff is near the end, with the final 6.4k at 7.2% and three of the final four kilometres having individual averages of at least 8%. Overall, it’s very similar in nature to the Leysin MTF they used very recently at Romandie, although I think Bocca della Selva just about has the edge.
Bocca della Selva has been used twice in Giro history: once in the aforementioned Guardia Sanframondi stage where they descended this side, and once early stage in the 2016 stage to Roccaraso from the same side used here.
What to expect?
Probably one for the breakaway, but I would be disappointed if we don’t see GC action in the final quarter of the climb.
Stage 10: Pompei – Cusano Mutri (Bocca della Selva), 142.0k
The second week kicks off with an underrated MTF. No, it isn’t exactly brutal, but contrary to what some people would have you believe, it also isn’t anywhere near the likes of Montevergine, Mégève or Laguna Negra.
The route
The first week ended in the Naples metropolitan area, and that’s where we still are for the start of the second week. Pompeii has been immortalized in Western culture just as much as it was immortalized two millennia ago by the Vesuvius. Of course, it’s rather possible that the GC battle, too, will feel like it died and was buried ages ago by the time this stage rolls around, but let’s hope that that irony doesn’t come to pass.
The first 45 kilometres are flat, bad news for any climbers wanting to get into the breakaway but it isn’t out of the question that nothing has stuck by the time the road rises for the first time, to the intermediate sprint at Arpaia.
Next up is the uncategorised climb to Bivio Taburno. For no apparent reason we’re on random back roads, making for a steep climb, and yet despite that effort there are no KOM points.
The first climb that actually hands out KOM points is Camposauro, one of the best passes in the area, although this is the easier side. At the pass, there is also a dead-end road which would make for a HC MTF and there’s plenty of space at the summit… hopefully, a story for a future Giro.
The penultimate climb is to Guardia Sanframondi, where Victor Lafay won the stage in 2022. For some reason, the route taken into town, while partially the same, is significantly tougher overall – why did they not use this variant as the HTF/MTF back then? Oh, and the Intergiro is here for some reason.
Following a rolling section, the riders reach Cusano Mutri, which is paying for the finish and has gotten the bonus second sprint as part of the deal. The MTF itself is officially 20.9k at a lowly 4.6%, but for unclear reasons that figure includes 3 flat kilometres before the road actually goes uphill – the actual climb is therefore 17.9k at 5.4%. Moreover, the hardest stuff is near the end, with the final 6.4k at 7.2% and three of the final four kilometres having individual averages of at least 8%. Overall, it’s very similar in nature to the Leysin MTF they used very recently at Romandie, although I think Bocca della Selva just about has the edge.
Bocca della Selva has been used twice in Giro history: once in the aforementioned Guardia Sanframondi stage where they descended this side, and once early stage in the 2016 stage to Roccaraso from the same side used here.
What to expect?
Probably one for the breakaway, but I would be disappointed if we don’t see GC action in the final quarter of the climb.
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