Preview - Giro d'Italia 2022 stage 16

You wouldn’t call it the queen stage of the Giro d'Italia, but whoever says so would not be far from the truth. The 16th stage will be the first of the third week which will add some mystery to the mix, but this is the only +200 kilometer mountain stage, and it will have a whole 5200 meters of climbing.

After a rest day every stage can be treacherous, however here everyone will be put to the test and there will be no place to hide, with a big mix of climbs that have the space to create big differences in the overall classification.

Although there’s a little bit of climbing beforehand,the first mountain of the day is a colossal one. 19 kilometers long at 6.2%, an almost one-hour effort up to Goletto di Cadino. The first 30 kilometers are essentially flat, but afterwards the race will go up to almost 2000 meters of altitude (start is officially at 257 meters).

The second climb of the day is the iconic Passo del Mortirolo. This won’t be the hardest vertent of the mountain, as it will be climbed via it’s eastern side, but nevertheless it is still a very tough ascent. The descent that follows is very technical but above all steep, a nightmare for those who are scared of having to take risks, but the climb itself can see some moves as it features 12.7 kilometers at 7.7%, with it’s steepest kilometers near the summit – which is placed 72 kilometers away from the finish.

After a quick valley ride, the riders will then ascent Teglio for an intermediate sprint, it’s not even categorized but it’s a whole 5.1 kilometers at 8.7%, a climb very similar to Superga in it’s details – it summits with 30 kilometers to go.

All those though are in anticipation of the final and main climb of the day. Valico di Santa Cristina is a climb that can best be described with the quote “it goes up, and up, and up…” It’s 12.7 kilometers long and averages 8.1%, but will be a horrible experience for many as it just gets steeper and steeper the whole way. The final 6 kilometers average above 10% and provide no restbite whatsoever, the only positive thing about it is that at it’s summit there are only 6 kilometers to go.

After a very fast and short descent, the riders will very quickly enter Aprica and head into the finish. It is a small town which very often receives finally of monstruous stages in the Giro d’Italia, and this should be no exception.

CyclingUpToDate prediction:

**** Richard Carapaz

*** Jai Hindley, Simon Yates

** Mikel Landa, João Almeida, Vincenzo Nibali

* Domenico Pozzovivo, Pello Bilbao, Emanuel Buchmann, Thymen Arensman

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