Preview - Giro d'Italia 2022 stage 9

A 5000 climbing meters day in the Giro d'Italia. That is the simple and best description for the final day of the opening week, where there will be no hiding and the GC fight will detonate on the Blockhaus ascent – a classic at the Giro, one of the hardest climbs in the Appennines.

The day is more than just the final climb though. With 5, 17.5 and 38 of racing there will be the summit of three climbs which will be very hard to tackle early in the day. 3.1Km at 5.7%, 9Km at 6.7% and 7.3Km at 6.1% is a hard way to start any kind of day, but when this is just the appetizer, it means everyone will be in for a long day In the saddle…

Not only is Blockhaus not the only climb of the day, it’s also not the only quite difficult climb. 8.9Km at 4.1% lead up to it, but officially the Passo Lanciano only starts afterwards with a 7.2% average gradient for 10.8 kilometers. Not the hardest vertent of the mountain, but quite a difficult one, a long climb with constantly high gradients that will be crushing for the peloton, however it should be ridden conservatively as the gaps are to be made on the final ascent of the day.

In it’s totality, 26 kilometers long at 6% but if that’s not enough, this includes a descending section halfway up the climb. The final 13,9 kilometers are at 8.4%. This is a mountain that only in it’s second half resembles very much the Alpe d’Huez, for a more clear comparison. It is brutal, the gradients get very high – frequently into double-digit territory – and there is not a single restbite section until the very finish. A rough mountain perfect for the pure climbers, and where serious differences will be made.

**** Richard Carapaz

*** Romain Bardet, João Almeida

** Simon Yates, Mikel Landa, Pello Bilbao

* Wilco Kelderman, Giulio Ciccone, Jai Hindley, Richie Porte