Winning on a day like this means so much more than winning a stage of the Giro Next Gen, it means conquering an iconic summit, one of those climbs where this sport has forged its legend. Thus, without a shadow of a doubt, we should get ready for great battle: whoever imposes himself atop the Stelvio Pass will be one of those champions we will often hear about in the coming years.

The stage starts in Morbegno, Valtellina, and then follows the course of the Adda river to Sondrio, where the peloton will ascend a scenic road crossing important cycling sites such as Poggiridenti. Next will be the KOM of Teglio (8 km at 3.8%), which gives its name to the valley, followed by a long climb to Bormio through the villages Tirano, Mazzo di Valtellina, and Valdisotto. After all these tasty appetisers, it’s time for the main course: Passo dello Stelvio (21.7 km at 7.1%), which, kilometre after kilometre, hairpin bend after hairpin bend, will smash the peloton and possibly turn the GC upside down. Nowhere to hide on Stelvio!

Jumbo-Visma will rely on Johannes Staune-Mittet and Tijmen Graat (Jumbo-Visma), who will have to deal with Alessio Martinelli (Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè), Lukas Nerurkar (Trinity Racing), William Junior Lecerf (Soudal-QuickStep Devo), Alexander Hajek (Tirol KTM), Hannes Wilksch (Tudor U23) and Davide De Pretto (Zalf Euromobil Fior).