Giro 2023 Route stage 3: Vasto - Melfi

The riders set off from Vasto, which lies on a plateau above the sandy beaches of the Adriatic Coast. The Giro was there three years ago for a stage start. The race let to L’Aquila, where Pello Bilbao won from the breakaway in a thrilling finale.

This year’s 3rd stage leaves the Abruzzo region in southerly direction. The riders face a day with two faces. The first part of the route is flat before a hilly section is expected to be decisive, either by splitting up the breakaway or by bringing the breakaway back.

The climb to the volcanic lakes of Monticchio with a stately Benedictine Abbey above to highlight the majestic beauty begins after 173 kilometres of action. The first of the two ascents is 6.3 kilometres long and goes up at 6.4%. The riders race past L’abbazia di San Michele Arcangelo before the route circles, slightly downhill, around the water-filled crater mouth 670 meters above sea level. The second climb is 2.6 kilometres long and rises at 7.6%.

Still 26 kilometres remaining at the summit, the first 16 of which fly downhill and the last 10 are not exactly flat either. It’s rolling terrain with the penultimate kilometre a tuned false flat at 3.4%, while the last 250 metres rise at 5% to the line.

We have to go as far back as 1994 for the last Giro finish in Melfi. Back then, Italian fast man Endrio Leoni took the win in a predominantly flat stage. A bunch sprint is not going to happen this time.

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

Ride the route yourself? Download GPX stage 3 2023 Giro d’Italia.

Another interesting read: results 3rd stage 2023 Giro.

Giro d’Italia 2023 stage 3: route, profile, more

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route finale

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