Stage 7 Preview: Ready For GC Shake-Up In Tagliacozzo

After three days suited to the fast men, the first real test for the general classification at the Giro d’Italia 2025 comes in Stage 7: the 168 km ride from Castel di Sangro to Tagliacozzo. The first summit finish is always a key turning point, one that helps reveal who’s truly in the fight and who will be forced to chase. We’ll get a better understanding of who came into the Giro taking a more measured approach, aiming to peak in the brutal third week, and who already has the legs to go on the attack.

It all comes down to the final ramp to Tagliacozzo

The stage is a tough one, featuring 3,500 meters of elevation gain, with three categorized climbs ahead of the final ascent. Right from the start, the peloton will head uphill to Roccaraso (cat. 3, 7.4 km at 6.1%), a climb making its seventh appearance in Giro history, two years after its last inclusion. After 65 km, the riders will tackle the demanding Monte Urano (cat. 2, 4.5 km at 9.3%), followed by the long but more manageable Vado della Forcella (cat. 2, 21.6 km at 3.6%). From there, with just over 60 km to go, the course descends into Magliano de’ Marsi, continues through Scurcola Marsicana, and leads into Tagliacozzo, where the highly anticipated final climb begins.

The overall stats of the final ascent may not sound too daunting – 12.6 km at 5.4% average gradient – but they don’t tell the whole story. The ramp to the finish in Marsia is brutally selective: the last 2.6 km average a punishing 9.1%, and even if the race has stayed quiet until then, it’s inevitable that someone will test their legs there. If a GC hopeful has a bad day, even just 2,600 meters at those gradients could prove incredibly costly.