After two intense days, today’s stage is a chance to breathe a little, at least on paper. But not right away though, because the early section of the 165km Pergine Valsugana-Povegliano will be rather steep: if tackled at a high tempo, the climb up the Valico della Fricca (10.6km at 6%) is more than likely to shatter the peloton. However, detached riders will have plenty of time to catch up and the most probable outcome remains a sprint, as the next 150 km are either downhill or flat.

Several villages and towns will be touched, presenting the usual technical difficulties, before reaching Povegliano, where, after crossing the finish line, two laps of a very fast 16-kilometre circuit will begin. Pergine Valsugana also hosted the start of a Giro d’Italia stage this year (the pro one), namely the one arriving in Caorle, which ended with Alberto Dainese’s masterful sprint to victory.

This is a tricky day in terms of the Maglia Ciclamino. After his stage win in Magenta, Luke Lamperti (Trinity Racing) is definitely among the big favourites. The Californian will have to keep an eye on Alberto Bruttomesso (CT Friuli), Gianluca Pollefliet (Lotto Dstny), Tim Torn Teutenberg (Leopard TOGT), Davide Persico (Colpack Ballan), Kasper Andersen (Hagens Berman Axeon) and Alessandro Motta (Biesse-Carrera). Before fighting for glory though, all of them will have to overcome the Valico di Fricca climb without wasting too much energy.