Week 2: Watch out for pitfalls

In the 150km Sanremo-Cuneo stage the sprinters will be back in the limelight, and they will have the penultimate opportunity to try and make their mark. The Colle di Nava to be tackled with 100 km to go is not frightening. On the finish line in the Piedmontese city a tight bunch arrival is to be expected, breakaway permitting.

The weekend kicks off with a stage, designed on the routes dear to Fausto Coppi, that promises spectacle: the Santena-Torino, short (147 km) but with no less than 3000 metres of elevation gain and continuous ups and downs that will not give the peloton a chance to catch its breath. This is an ideal stage to try a few ambushes, since the final circuit, to be repeated twice, features some very important asperities. First of all, the Colle di Superga, the symbolic climb of the Milan-Turin, which will be tackled from the Bric del Duca side (5 km at 8.6%), then the Colle della Maddalena (3.5 km at 8%), with the first kilometre and a half at 13%, and finally the Parco del Nobile climb (1.5 km at 8%). All to be repeated twice. After a week of relatively quiet stages at least on paper, the fireworks could explode in Turin.

The week closes with a stage with almost 4,000 metres of elevation gain, the 177-kilometre Rivarolo Canavese-Cogne. The last 80 kilometres are extremely interesting, with the first category climbs of Pila-Les Fleurs (12.2 km at 6.9%), Verrogne (14 km at 7%) and then the final second to Cogne (22.4 km at 4.3%) to be tackled in quick succession. With the final climb seemingly unlikely to make a selection, the tussle could be unleashed in the first two hills, with special attention also to be paid to the descents. With the rest day just around the corner, the GC men may be keen to try and gain a few seconds.

THE HIGHLIGHTS OF STAGE 9