Stage 8 Preview: first real chance for breakaway in Castelraimondo

After the fireworks of the finish in Tagliacozzo, the 2025 Giro d’Italia serves up a classic stage for attackers: Giulianova to Castelraimondo, 197 km. As the race enters the Marche region, the flat roads disappear, replaced by relentless ups and downs that promise a super entertaining stage. A fierce battle to get into the break is expected from the opening kilometers, as – barring surprises – it will likely be the escapees fighting it out for the stage win.

The Marche walls are here

Between Abruzzo and Marche, there’s little flat terrain, and throughout the stage there will be virtually no chance to catch a breath. After 60 km, following the intermediate sprint in Roccafluvione, the road climbs to Croce di Casale (Category 3, 8.6 km at 4.5%), and from Sarnano, which also serves as an intermediate sprint, the peloton will take on the beautiful ascent to Sassotetto, the Valico di Santa Maria Maddalena (cat. 1, 13.1 km at 7.4%).

At the summit, there will still be over 90 km to go, but it’s the final 50 that will prove decisive. First comes the climb to Montelago (cat. 3, 5.5 km at 6.9%), followed by the Red Bull KM at Castel Santa Maria (1.4 km at 7.3%), and finally the sharp ramp of Gagliole (cat. 4, 800 meters at 8%) with 6.5 km remaining, perfect launchpads for anyone eyeing the win.

Who will make it into the breakaway?

The profile of today’s stage is tailor-made for a long-range breakaway to succeed. So we can expect a fierce battle in the first hour of racing to get into the day’s move. It’s also not out of the question that Primož Roglič (Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe) might be willing to hand over the Maglia Rosa again, but he’ll need to be very careful about who he lets up the road.

Potentially, every team could be interested in sending a rider up the road to play their card. That makes it hard to predict names, but anyone who’s been aggressive in recent days will almost certainly try again today.