"It will be very fast" - Alberto Contador predicts chaos on Giro d'Italia stage 18

With the crazy number of stages we have in this final part of the Giro d'Italia 2025, analyzing stage 18 has been quite simple for Alberto Contador. The Eurosport commentator has given his opinion on what can happen in a day of just 144 kilometers, starting in Morbegno and finishing in Cesano Maderno. The legendary rider anticipates the 2 very difficult final days of high mountains will decide the maglia rosa before Sunday's ride through the streets of Rome.

Today's stage will not be flat, as the central part is quite hard, with a chain of 3 passes that looks like the perfect stage for a breakaway. After a flat start, Parlasco (7.6km at 5.8%), Colle Balisio (4.6km at 3.3%) and Ravellino (9km at 4.4%) will be climbed. The last 50km are flat, although on a technical circuit, and the riders will pass the finish line 2 times before the final finish. The question is whether a breakaway is sure to arrive, or if we will see the penultimate sprint before Rome.

This is what Contador thinks:

"Stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia, short, 144 km that will be very fast, many riders will try to sneak into the breakaway of the day but I think there is a team, Lidl-Trek, with a lot of confidence and with a Mads Pedersen who climbs very well in third and second category passes that will try to control the breakaway to compete in the sprint. We'll see, it will be very fast. We don't know if the breakaway will win, why not, or the fast men."

We'll see what happens. The first thing is to know if teams like Visma or Lidl try to include Pedersen or Wout van Aert in the breakaway or not. Then, we will see if the more pure sprinters like Olav Kooij or Kaden Groves can hold on to the climbs.