Giro 2020 Route stage 18: Pinzolo

Giro 2020 Route stage 18: Pinzolo – Laghi di Cancano

Thursday 22 October - The penultimate mountain stage on the Giro is a race from Pinzolo to Lago di Cancano. After passages over the Campo Carlo Magnon, Passo Castrin and the infamous Passo dello Stelvio the final haul up is 8.7 kilometres long and crammed with hairpins.

Pinzolo hosted the Giro for the last time in 2015. The race went to Aprica and Mikel Landa soloed to victory, while Steven Kruijswijk and Alberto Contador finished second and third behind the Basque.

The riders tackle the Campo Carlo Magno from the gun, which is a 15.3 kilometres climb at 6.1%. They continue onto the Passo Castrin, also known as Hofmanhdjoch. The essential section is 8 kilometres long and rises at 8.5%, but before this the Castrin has been going for 13.5 kilometres. The first part goes up at, the second part is a false flat, while the third part is that 8 kilometres ascent at 8.5%.

A prolonged intermediate phase leads onto one of the most famous climbs of Italy. The Giro tackles the Passo dello Stelvio on the Prato side. This way, the ascent amounts to 24.7 kilometres, while the average gradient sits at 7.5%. The first 10 kilometres are relatively easy before the Stelvio kicks it up a notch with gradients rarely falling below 8%.

The first rider at the Stelvio summit wins the Cima Coppi before plunging down towards Bormio without reaching the village. In the last first hairpin the route turns right to continue towards Premadio. The riders leave the main road and continue to the hairpin-filled Torri di Fraele to finish the ascent at the Cancano dam. The finish climb ascent is 8.7 kilometres long and the average gradient sits at 6.8% before a flat run-in of 1.7 kilometres to the line.

The intermediate sprint at kilometre 196.4 comes with 3, 2 and 1 seconds, while time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds are awarded to the first three riders on the line.

Another interesting read: results race report 18th stage 2020 Giro d’Italia.