Giro d'Italia stage 9 preview - A mountain-top finish leads the riders into the second rest day

While not as difficult as the first major mountain test on Blockhaus, there could be more GC differences atop Corno alle Scalle.

Key information:

• Start: 12:50 (CET)
• Estimated Finish: 17:15 (CET)
• Stage type: Mountain
• Stage length: 183.82km
• Elevation gain: 2,155m

Follow stage 9 live at Domestique with our live reporting!

The run-in to the final climb is even more benign than it was on the previous two stages. The opening 150km are predominantly flat, creating the impression that this is not necessarily a day for the GC contenders to make a difference. That impression, however, changes rapidly inside the final 30km.

The first real obstacle is the third-category climb to Querciola, a 10.9km ascent averaging 4.3%. It is not severe enough to decide the stage on its own, but it will act as a prelude to the main event. From the summit, the riders face around 4km of shallow descending, though hardly enough to allow any real recovery before the decisive climb begins.

The stage finishes at Corno alle Scale, a 10km ascent with an average gradient of 4.8%. Those figures only tell part of the story. The toughest section comes late, with the final 2.8km averaging around 10%.

That statistic is made even more telling by the fact that the road flattens in the final kilometre, as the profile shows. The two kilometres before that average 11.5%, making this a brutally concentrated finale.

Put together, the final 27.3km average 4.1%, and by the time the riders reach the steepest ramps, their legs will already be heavy.

For climbers hoping to make the breakaway, this stage presents an even greater challenge than the previous two days. With the first 150km largely flat, getting into the move will be difficult for pure climbers, yet the final 27km are almost entirely uphill. To win from the break, a rider will need both the power to survive the early fight and the climbing legs to finish the job.

That makes for a complicated dynamic. There should be plenty of interest in the early move, especially now that several strong riders have already lost time and earned more freedom. But even if the breakaway does fight for the stage, the GC group should still see significant gaps. The final climb is simply too demanding, especially after two hard days already in the legs.

So will this be one for the breakaway or the GC contenders? It is a difficult call. Team Visma | Lease a Bike have little to lose by taking responsibility. Given the difficulty of the finale, a Jonas Vingegaard stage win is a realistic outcome, and with a rest day following on Monday, there is less risk in spending domestiques here.

But Visma are not the only team with a reason to ride. Jai Hindley has looked very strong, Giulio Pellizzari may have overreached on the Blockhaus but clearly has the legs, and Felix Gall produced an outstanding performance there too. The question is whether Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Decathlon CMA CGM are willing to commit their teams to a chase.

For now, this looks close to a 50-50 call between the breakaway and the GC favourites.

Key points

• Intermediate sprint - 58.5km to go
• Quiercola | 3rd category climb - 10.9km at 4.3% - 17km to go
• Red Bull km (bonification sprint) - 11.5km to go (2km into the climb)
• Corno alle Scale | 1st category climb - 10.8km at 4.8% - 10.8km to go

Lidl-Trek appear to have the outstanding favourite in their ranks in Giulio Ciccone. The Italian has finally made his choice and allowed his GC bid to drift, freeing him up to chase stage wins. After a strong ride on the Blockhaus, Ciccone was not given any freedom on stage 8, prompting him to deliberately ship time in the hope of earning more room from here on.

That status, however, comes with a caveat. As the obvious danger man, Ciccone will have a sizeable target on his back, and the flat opening terrain means the formation of the breakaway is far from straightforward.

As mentioned, a GC day cannot be ruled out either. The key question is what Team Visma | Lease a Bike choose to do with Jonas Vingegaard. The Dane won on the Blockhaus, but his margin of victory was probably smaller than the team had hoped or expected. Even if Visma opt against controlling the race from kilometre zero, several scenarios could still pull the peloton into a GC battle.

A long and intense fight for the breakaway, for instance, could keep the pace high enough to make a late catch realistic. Bringing back a fatigued breakaway in the finale would require far less effort than controlling the stage all day. The calculation is complicated, though. If Vingegaard takes maximum points on the final climb, he would likely have to ride the stage 10 time trial in the maglia azzurra.

Would Visma pass up a shot at another stage win because of that? It is hard to know, but this is a team that has never been shy about chasing marginal gains.

Other GC teams may also have reason to take responsibility. Jai Hindley looked excellent on the Blockhaus and still had real explosiveness in the finale. He showed that again on stage 8, opening a two-second gap on the rest of the GC contenders in the final 300m, with only Vingegaard able to follow.

Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe also have the hugely talented Giulio Pellizzari in reserve. The Italian overreached on the Blockhaus, but he will likely have learned from that experience. Whether the combination of Hindley and Pellizzari is enough to convince the team to control the breakaway remains to be seen.

Decathlon CMA CGM could also be tempted to ride for Felix Gall. The Austrian was one of the revelations of the Blockhaus, where he appeared to be closing in on Vingegaard in the final kilometre. That performance may have given him the confidence, and the motivation, to target the stage win here.

With Enric Mas out of the GC picture, stage hunting is now the only real objective left for Movistar Team. Their best card at this point looks to be Javier Romo.

The Spaniard tried to force his way into the break on stage 8, but once it became clear the move no longer made sense, he appeared to ease off and save his legs for this stage. With a rest day coming on Monday, there is little reason not to go all in again.

Much the same applies to Alessandro Pinarello (NSN). Things have not quite fallen his way so far at this Giro d’Italia, but his form in the build-up to the race, particularly at O Gran Camiño, suggested he had excellent legs. That kind of condition does not simply disappear.

Florian Stork also looks to have timed his peak well. From the Tour of the Alps to Eschborn-Frankfurt and now the Giro, the Tudor rider has been consistently strong. He climbs well, has a useful turn of speed, and possesses the engine to handle the flatter terrain before the final ascent. That makes this a very interesting opportunity for him.

David de la Cruz (Pinarello-Q36.5) is the kind of rider who often performs well without attracting too much attention. At this Giro, though, he appears to have found a very solid level, and this stage should suit him. Getting into the right move will be the biggest challenge.

Picnic PostNL have certainly known better times, but this stage could offer them a real opportunity with Gijs Leemreize. His season only began at the Tour of the Alps after he fractured his collarbone in a training crash in February, but that should no longer be a major limitation.

Leemreize has also shown in the past that he has a feel for the right breakaway, which could be crucial on a stage like this. The final climb should suit him too.

And last but not least, all eyes will once again be on pink jersey Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious)) to see what he can do on today’s climb. Can he carry the maglia rosa into the rest day?

Other riders to watch include Aleksandr Vlasov (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe), Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Intermarché), Gianmarco Garofoli (Soudal Quick-Step), and Josh Kench (Groupama-FDJ United).

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  Ciccone

⭐⭐⭐⭐  Vingegaard, Hindley

⭐⭐⭐  Pellizzari, Gall, Stork

⭐⭐  Romo, Pinarello, De la Cruz, Leemreize

⭐  Eulálio, Vlasov, Van Eetvelt, Garofoli, Kench