Stage 8: Foligno › Arezzo – 186km
The Giro’s 8th stage looks like one for the puncheurs. The first half of the day won’t be all that challenging, but a late Cat. 2 and an uphill finish should make things interesting. The Cat. 2 is a little over 10km at around 5%. From the top, it’s less than 20km to the finish, where the road kicks up at a gradient of around 5% again in the final kilometer, with some cobbles thrown in for good measure.
Too hard for the sprinters, Stage 8 will favor those with decent climbing legs and some pop. Whether it comes down to a long-range move or a reduced uphill sprint, the same kind of rider should do well here.
Alejandro Valverde is an obvious favorite on this kind of profile. If Movistar can push a hard pace on the Cat. 2 to whittle down the bunch a bit, he’ll be hard to beat at the finish. Diego Ulissi could be in the mix as well. If he can hold on over the Alpe di Poti climb (or if he can get into a long-distance move), he too will be a danger on the finishing straight.
Tim Wellens should like the look of this profile. He proved his form in Stage 6, and Saturday’s stage favors his skillset as well.
Vincenzo Nibali may have something up his sleeve given the high-speed descent that awaits less than 20km from the finish. It didn’t end up working out, but he showed in Stage 6 that he’s interested in be aggressive in pursuit of his GC ambitions this Giro.
Speaking of GC ambitions, this is a good parcours for pink-jersey-wearing Tom Dumoulin. Two-time Giro runner-up Rigoberto Urán may also like the look of the stage.
Sonny Colbrelli, Moreno Moser, Bob Jungels, Gianluca Brambilla, Carlos Betancur, and Damiano Cunego are others that might get involved on Stage 8 as well.
VeloHuman Stage 8 Favorites
1. Alejandro Valverde | 2. Diego Ulissi | 3. Tim Wellens