- Apr 30, 2011
- 44,829
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By @Devil's Elbow: https://forum.cyclingnews.com/threads/giro-ditalia-2025-stage-by-stage-analysis.40381/post-3178379
There are a lot of golden opportunities for breakaway riders who can climb in this race, and this is the first. However, the easy start means that getting into said breakaway is half of the challenge.
Map and profile
Start
Four days later, the riders have made it back to the Adriatic coast, in the town of Giulianova. The original town here, named San Flaviano, was founded by the Romans and located two kilometres further south. In 1460, a battle was fought here between the Kingdom of Napoli, then still fairly newly under Spanish rule, and a coalition of disgruntled noblemen (including the powerful local count) and the Angevins, who were trying to reclaim their old throne. San Flaviano was destroyed after the battle, and the decision was made to replace it on a more easily defensible hill. The new town, built in line with Renaissance ideals, was christened Giulianova, and being located just south of the border with the Papal States, it was more important as a military stronghold than as a port. Reunification was much better for the Abruzzo coast than for most of the Italian south: gone was its peripheral location, and with the coastal railway being built shortly thereafter many of the towns in the area rapidly developed into seaside resorts. So too did Giulianova, and the art nouveau of this era is still well-represented in the town. In the Second World War, it was heavily bombed by the Allies and 24 inhabitants were killed in the process. The town recovered fairly quickly from this, and is now one of the largest fishing ports/marinas in the Abruzzo region as well as a still-popular beach resort town. In cycling, it has hosted the Giro four times before, but is especially notable as the home town of the Gis Gelati team of the 1980s, for whom Francesco Moser won that notorious 1984 Giro.
(picture by Gianfranco Del Sordo at Wikimedia Commons)
Route
As I already alluded to at the start of the post, the first hour or so of this stage is quite flat. However, much of these sections are uphill false flats, so the battle to get into the breakaway should both take a while and be even more energy-sapping than if the roads were truly flat. The main town on this section is the ancient Ascoli Piceno, which in 91 BC was the first of Rome’s domestic allies to rebel against the Republic, kickstarting the Social War. The Republic resolved the war in part through military victories and in part through offering its Italian allies full citizenship, which would in time mostly end the political and cultural heterogeneity of the peninsula, but also helped set the stage for its own downfall through increased military power and sowing the seeds for Sulla’s coup in 82 BC.
Now, before I scare away the last remaining readers not interested in history lessons, let’s move back to cycling. The flattish section ends with the intermediate sprint in Roccafluvione, then it’s on to the first KOM of the day, Croce di Casale. If the break hasn’t gone yet, this combination should do the trick.
The next section is rolling, with the main feature being the short climb to Rustici.
Then we arrive in Sarnano, the location of the second intermediate sprint and more importantly the start of the main climb of the day, Valico di Santa Maria Maddalena. Sassotetto, the ski station just below its summit, has been a Tirreno MTF three times since 2018. However, the climb hasn’t been seen in full in any race since 2011 (also on a stage to Castelraimondo, with the same finale) and the Giro last included it in 2019.
The forty-odd kilometres from here to the next climb are mostly covered by a long, irregular but reasonably straightforward descent, with the remainder consisting of uphill false flat. However, Montelago is actually a pretty tricky climb, so if the break hasn’t fractured yet on the previous KOM, it will here.
Another pretty easy descent and a false flat downhill bring the riders very close to the finish in Castelraimondo, however rather than heading there directly, we have a reprise of the 2011 Tirreno final loop to do. It’s harder than it looks on the profile: that Tirreno stage had only 13 riders left in the GC group by the time they made it to the finish and saw Robert Gesink lose the 17 seconds that wound up costing him the GC. And when you look at the climbs, it becomes clear why: there are quite a few steep ramps tucked away, starting with the climb to the bonification sprint at Castel Santa Maria.
The descent is narrow and twisty, but also short and shallow. It takes the riders into the town of Matelica, and after a moment’s respite they head out of town onto the little climb to Alberata Alta.
Finish
Now the break will be in pieces by this point, but for the GC riders it’s important to be near the front here, because this hill gives way to a short descent that’s just narrow and winding enough to string out the peloton. Said descent backs directly into the final KOM of the day, to Gagliole. Short, steep and close to the line, it’s a potential banana skin. We then have 1.7k of flat, 2.8k of somewhat technical descent, before things level out in the final 2.1 kilometres save for the drag to the line.
Castelraimondo is one of those towns that I really don’t have a whole lot to say about. It dates back to the early 14th century, when a fortress was erected here to guard the crossroads formed by the intersection of valleys here. However, because there were plenty of nearby towns, it never really grew much beyond its military purpose and even today the town is somewhat overshadowed by its neighbours. Most of the fortifications were either demolished after the arrival of the railway in the late 19th century or in a severe fire in 1906, but a 37-metre tower survives. This is its first time hosting the Giro, so the most important races to have been here are the Tirreno stages I discussed previously.
(picture by Robot8A at Wikimedia Commons)
What to expect?
A very obvious breakaway stage, but with potential for minor GC action towards the end.
There are a lot of golden opportunities for breakaway riders who can climb in this race, and this is the first. However, the easy start means that getting into said breakaway is half of the challenge.
Map and profile
Start
Four days later, the riders have made it back to the Adriatic coast, in the town of Giulianova. The original town here, named San Flaviano, was founded by the Romans and located two kilometres further south. In 1460, a battle was fought here between the Kingdom of Napoli, then still fairly newly under Spanish rule, and a coalition of disgruntled noblemen (including the powerful local count) and the Angevins, who were trying to reclaim their old throne. San Flaviano was destroyed after the battle, and the decision was made to replace it on a more easily defensible hill. The new town, built in line with Renaissance ideals, was christened Giulianova, and being located just south of the border with the Papal States, it was more important as a military stronghold than as a port. Reunification was much better for the Abruzzo coast than for most of the Italian south: gone was its peripheral location, and with the coastal railway being built shortly thereafter many of the towns in the area rapidly developed into seaside resorts. So too did Giulianova, and the art nouveau of this era is still well-represented in the town. In the Second World War, it was heavily bombed by the Allies and 24 inhabitants were killed in the process. The town recovered fairly quickly from this, and is now one of the largest fishing ports/marinas in the Abruzzo region as well as a still-popular beach resort town. In cycling, it has hosted the Giro four times before, but is especially notable as the home town of the Gis Gelati team of the 1980s, for whom Francesco Moser won that notorious 1984 Giro.
(picture by Gianfranco Del Sordo at Wikimedia Commons)
Route
As I already alluded to at the start of the post, the first hour or so of this stage is quite flat. However, much of these sections are uphill false flats, so the battle to get into the breakaway should both take a while and be even more energy-sapping than if the roads were truly flat. The main town on this section is the ancient Ascoli Piceno, which in 91 BC was the first of Rome’s domestic allies to rebel against the Republic, kickstarting the Social War. The Republic resolved the war in part through military victories and in part through offering its Italian allies full citizenship, which would in time mostly end the political and cultural heterogeneity of the peninsula, but also helped set the stage for its own downfall through increased military power and sowing the seeds for Sulla’s coup in 82 BC.
Now, before I scare away the last remaining readers not interested in history lessons, let’s move back to cycling. The flattish section ends with the intermediate sprint in Roccafluvione, then it’s on to the first KOM of the day, Croce di Casale. If the break hasn’t gone yet, this combination should do the trick.
The next section is rolling, with the main feature being the short climb to Rustici.
Then we arrive in Sarnano, the location of the second intermediate sprint and more importantly the start of the main climb of the day, Valico di Santa Maria Maddalena. Sassotetto, the ski station just below its summit, has been a Tirreno MTF three times since 2018. However, the climb hasn’t been seen in full in any race since 2011 (also on a stage to Castelraimondo, with the same finale) and the Giro last included it in 2019.
The forty-odd kilometres from here to the next climb are mostly covered by a long, irregular but reasonably straightforward descent, with the remainder consisting of uphill false flat. However, Montelago is actually a pretty tricky climb, so if the break hasn’t fractured yet on the previous KOM, it will here.
Another pretty easy descent and a false flat downhill bring the riders very close to the finish in Castelraimondo, however rather than heading there directly, we have a reprise of the 2011 Tirreno final loop to do. It’s harder than it looks on the profile: that Tirreno stage had only 13 riders left in the GC group by the time they made it to the finish and saw Robert Gesink lose the 17 seconds that wound up costing him the GC. And when you look at the climbs, it becomes clear why: there are quite a few steep ramps tucked away, starting with the climb to the bonification sprint at Castel Santa Maria.
The descent is narrow and twisty, but also short and shallow. It takes the riders into the town of Matelica, and after a moment’s respite they head out of town onto the little climb to Alberata Alta.
Finish
Now the break will be in pieces by this point, but for the GC riders it’s important to be near the front here, because this hill gives way to a short descent that’s just narrow and winding enough to string out the peloton. Said descent backs directly into the final KOM of the day, to Gagliole. Short, steep and close to the line, it’s a potential banana skin. We then have 1.7k of flat, 2.8k of somewhat technical descent, before things level out in the final 2.1 kilometres save for the drag to the line.
Castelraimondo is one of those towns that I really don’t have a whole lot to say about. It dates back to the early 14th century, when a fortress was erected here to guard the crossroads formed by the intersection of valleys here. However, because there were plenty of nearby towns, it never really grew much beyond its military purpose and even today the town is somewhat overshadowed by its neighbours. Most of the fortifications were either demolished after the arrival of the railway in the late 19th century or in a severe fire in 1906, but a 37-metre tower survives. This is its first time hosting the Giro, so the most important races to have been here are the Tirreno stages I discussed previously.
(picture by Robot8A at Wikimedia Commons)
What to expect?
A very obvious breakaway stage, but with potential for minor GC action towards the end.
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