PREVIEW | Giro d'Italia 2025 stage 4 - Can Mads Pedersen continue streak of victories in first pure bunch sprint?

The Corsa Rosa is the first Grand Tour of the season and this year it will include a start in a nation that will for the first time in it's history host a Grand Tour, Albania; and also several mountain stages in it's second half whilst the first half will feature some tricky stages including one that goes through a lot of the Strade Bianche course. We preview stage 4.

The race returns to the mainland through Alberobello with the first pure day for the sprinters. No major difficulties into Lecce and the sprinters will with no doubt be in the spotlight on this day. With a mere 730 meters of climbing - one categorized climb on the day, and mostly flat roads all the way.

The riders head southeast towards Italy's 'heel of the boot' geographically speaking, and finish in the central city of Lecce where there will be a two-lap circuit in urban roads. The finale will be very fast and it will also be technical.

Entering the final kilometer there are two small right-hand corners which will require care and the fight for positioning into it will be big as the peloton will stretch out. And then, already in the very last few final hundred meters there is a sharp left-hand corner that will lead to a long sprint.

Some meaningful wind coming from the north will make it a very tense day. Up until the first intermediate sprint things may be calm but from there onwards we can expect a very fast day and with potential echelons! From kilometer 40 to the entrance in the circuit in Lecce 125 kilometers later the threat will be almost constant. There will be areas of open crosswinds and it should be one of those first-week days that can end the big GC aspirations of a few riders.

Mads Pedersen - Lidl-Trek have had it perfectly thus far with two stages that fit the pink jersey to perfection. On the climbs all pure sprinters were dropped, and a few riders that could match simply didn't have their best form... Now on a flat stage with an inevitable bunch sprint this won't make much of a difference. The Dane definitely does have the speed to win once again, but he doesn't have the leadout that matches other teams and he might also not be as fresh one could argue.

The men who haven't shown themselves yet - The pure sprinters have in fact not really had an opportunity to show themselves. Now, by pure sprinter I don't mean these men can only sprint, but they couldn't take the climbs of previous days. Olav Kooij will certainly be a big contender for victory, specially with a leadout of Wout van Aert and Edoardo Affini backing him up; Kaden Groves is an experienced Grand Tour stage winner; whilst other men such as Milan Fretin, Paul Magnier and Matteo Moschetti don't have as much name but definitely have the potential to win a sprint such as this. It is noteworthy that if the wind does blow and the stage is hard, someone like Pedersen will likely be favoured.

But the sprint will likely take place with most of the fast men and there are a few who are very eager to perform, taking into consideration their absence from the opening weekend's action. This isn't the case with the likes of Corbin Strong or Orluis Aular who have each put in strong performances and weren't far from a stage win, or Filippo Fiorelli who can't say the same but has been able to contest this Sunday's sprint.

We've got Sam Bennett as a man under pressure who will certainly take big risks to position himself and chase a win, someone like Maikel Zijlaard who is brilliant with positioning and could contest for a strong result even if he doesn't have the same pure speed; and other fast men such as Luca Mozzato, Matevz Govekar, Gerben Thijssen, Casper van Uden, Giovanni Lonardi and Max Kanter.

*** Mads Pedersen, Olav Kooij, Kaden Groves
** Milan Fretin, Paul Magnier, Matteo Moschetti
* Wout van Aert, Sam Bennett, Gerben Thijssen, Orluis AUlar, Corbin Strong, Giovanni Lonardi, Casper van Uden, Maikel Zijlaard, Max Kanter

Pick: Olav Kooij

How: Regular bunch sprint