I consider this to be one of my best stage designs full stop.
Stage 7: Ascoli Piceno - Macerata, 177km
Climbs:
Potenza Picena (cat.4) 2,7km @ 6,4%
Montelupone (cat.3) 1,8km @ 12,3%
Macerata (cat.4) 2,3km @ 8,4%
Montefano (cat.4) 3,0km @ 4,5%
Recanati-Monte Conero (cat.4) 3,8km @ 6,2%
Montelupone (cat.3) 1,8km @ 12,3%
Macerata (cat.4) 2,3km @ 8,4%
Yes, after an MTF on the Friday, a hilly stage on the Saturday, perhaps a bit of a surprise. But really, this one should create some really chaotic racing and should be a
lot of fun as things will be extremely hard to control, with seven categorised climbs and a couple more uncategorised ones as well, looping through heartlands of Tirreno-Adriatico.
The stage eases the riders in; with the first half, almost all of it along the Adriatic coast in Abruzzo, being absolutely pan flat. Only if the wind is blowing will there be any trouble here. However, once the first 90km are up and the second half of the stage begins, all hell breaks loose. The first climb of the day is a couple of kilometres long and maxing out at 17% into one of the many picturesque hilltop towns in the region,
Potenza Picena, which is well known among women's cycling fans as the home of former Junior World Champion turned disability campaigner
Marina Romoli, whose recovery from a paralysing back injury became a major story in Italian U23 and women's cycling a couple of years ago and whose charity is a co-sponsor of Bardiani Valvole as well as being supported and patronised by a number of Italian pros such as Valerio Agnoli, Salvatore Puccio, Manuel Belletti and of course her fiancée Matteo Pelucchi. [plug over] After this, about 6km of downhill takes us to the toughest climb of the day, and a well known - though only used a small number of times - climb of the area, the instant classic that is
Il Muro di Montelupone, otherwise known as "Cima Joaquím Rodríguez" after the only man to triumph on its epic, moto-killing slopes.
Revisit the 2008 climb here, where the legend of Murito was born.
Of course, there are over 70km remaining from here, but we're far from done with it. There's about 9-9,5km of rolling terrain with a little downhill, then we hit another climb, this one steep but not quite as steep as Il Muro. This takes us into the day's stage town of Macerata, from the river crossing to the direct east. In fact, apart from the first, shallow descending section (which is replaced by a shorter, steeper bit of descending out of Montelupone), this section is identical to
the closing stages of the 2011 Tirreno-Adriatico stage which was won by Cadel Evans,
as shown here.
From here, the riders go on a long loop including a number of other climbs, whether they be uncategorised (the gradual ascent into the scenic
Montecassiano with 47km to go, or the 500m at 9% into the hamlet of Spaccio Bagnolo with 35km to go) or worthy of categorisation (Montefano, gradual but comparatively long and with a max gradient of 9% and topping out with 40km to go, or the very tough climb into
Recanati, which is the longest climb of the day and maxes out with 26km remaining.
Realistically I would expect the first serious moves to be on that Recanati climb, although only secondary contenders and stagehunters are likely to make the big moves then. However a high pace over the earlier climbs, particularly the first three, should have left most of the top names short on domestiques by this time. This will mean they may have to do a bit of work themselves on the flat after Recanati - which isn't very long - to pull back attacking moves, although that may leave them vulnerable when they reach the next climb, which is a second go at Montelupone! That's right, Montelupone will lead us into the final uphill finish in Macerata, finishing in the town square as per the Tirreno-Adriatico stages in 2010 and 2011; however while those finishing battles were exciting, do not expect such a large group coming in together in this stage, for Il Muro di Montelupone crests with 12km remaining on the day, and given just how steep and nasty that climb is, it's hard to see them soft-pedalling that one. So it could be small groups and individuals head to head on the awkward slopes of Macerata, which vary from false flat to wall, sometimes within the same hundred metres. After all, look at the time gaps opened by Montelupone in Tirreno, and imagine the riders coming to the top with those with a whole further climb to look forward to - yes, this is not a big mountain stage, but I really do feel it's a worthy weekend stage.
Ascoli Piceno:
Macerata:
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