Giro 2023 Route stage 3: Vasto

Giro 2023 Route stage 3: Vasto - Melfi

Monday 8 May - The 3rd stage on the Giro d'Italia adds up to 213 kilometres and travels from Vasto to Melfi, a town in the foothills of Mount Vulture, an extinct volcano. In fact, the volcano itself is expected to be crucial, as it throws in two ascents inside the last 40 kilometres.

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.