Giro 2024 Favourites stage 6: Mini Strade Bianche

foto: Cor VosThe first 70 kilometers of the Giro's 6th stage are about as flat as can be, but then it's a rollercoaster of climbs and hills and gravel roads. As the race reaches its climax, the gradients steepen on a wall-like ramp. The riders then face a 4 kilometres run-in to the finish line. (Slideshow route/profile)

In short, the route of stage 6 is a breakaway artist’s dream. Although someone like Pogacar could also excel on a course like this. After all, last March he clinched victory in the Strade Bianche in dominant fashion.

But obviously, the Slovene has bigger fish to fry in the Giro. So, he and his team are expected to be content to let a group of attackers vie for the win. If that’s the case, it’s likely that the breakaway will form in the flat opening part to the west of Florence.

One could argue that the race actually begins when the riders tackle the 9.8 kilometres climb to Volterra. The town sits at 516 meters, and for the rest of the day, the riders will stay at altitude. They’ll traverse the rolling roads towards Grotti. In the approach to the village, the tarmac becomes sterrato for 4.4 kilometres. Following a very short stint on asphalt, the riders tackle a gravel climb of 2.5 kilometres at 6%. Upon passing through Grotti, there will still be 38.3 kilometres to go.

The subsequent phase serves up a succession of short climbs – all about 1 kilometre long and ascending at around 5%. Individually, these hills are not particularly challenging, but there are about five of them in total.

The last of the three sterrati sections ascends partially. The riders then descend to Asciano and tackle a 700-metre climb at 4.4%. There is no downhill, but instead, the road continues to gradually rise to the foot of the steepest slope of the day. In Serre di Rapolano, the road rises 1.2 kilometres at 8.4%, while the last few hundred meters ramp up from 10.8% to 18.8%!

After a short drop, the course rolls in the final 3 kilometers towards the finish. The finish line is marked by a slight uphill gradient.

Favourites 6th stage 2024 Giro d’Italia

*** Maximilian Schachmann, Jhonatan Narváez, Julian Alaphilippe, Attila Valter
** Alessandro de Marchi, Nicola Conci, Quinten Hermans, Andrea Piccolo, Filippo Zana
* Simon Clarke, Christophe Laporte, Aurélien Paret-Peintre, Andrea Vendrame, Matteo Fabbro

Another interesting read: route 6th stage 2024 Giro.