Preview - Giro d'Italia 2022 stage 17

The 17th stage of the Giro d'Italia will start in Ponte di Legno, a very familiar town for Alpine cycling fans and immediately head up the Passo del Tonale.

It will be short in comparison to some of today’s climbs, but an opportunity for a very strong group to go up the road – at the very least. 8.6 kilometers at 6.3%, before a long descent into some rolling terrain, before the peloton hit the final duo of climbs that will decide the stage.

The general classification is set to be played out, and with such small differences between the big four, everyday can be crucial and deadly. It will be a very interesting finale in a stage which should be hard enough to make serious differences - if the best climbers aren't once again very well balanced.

The first of which is the Valico del Vetriolo. Due to stage circumstances, it shouldn’t be attacked, however it’s quite a hard climb, with 11.8 kilometers and an average gradient of 7.7%. It summits with 34 kilometers to go and it’s descent features 12 switchbacks, not exactly an easy feature.

Very few kilometers split the two, which will allow for very little rest inbetween. The final climb of the day is 8 kilometers at almost 10% gradient. A climber’s Giro, people rightfully say, as in yet another day the peloton will have to go through a brutally steep and long ascent, this time into Monterovere. Constant, and tough, it summits with 8 kilometers to go but if that wasn’t bad enough, the finish line in Lavarone will only be reached by a set of rolling roads where the GC riders have to keep pushing to their very maximum for every single second they can get.

CyclingUpToDate prediction:

**** Jai Hindley

*** Richard Carapaz, Simon Yates

** Mikel Landa, Vincenzo Nibali, Giulio Ciccone

* João Almeida, Domenico Pozzovivo, Pello Bilbao, Emanuel Buchmann