| Date | Stage | From > To | Length | Type | Finish | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 13 | 6 | Grotte di Frasassi > Ascoli Piceno | 160km | Medium | Uphill | 12:55-17:15 CEST |
Weather: around 10Β°C in the mountains, 20Β°C in the valleys. Rainy and stormy all day long.
Stage Breakdown
After todayβs flat-fest, tomorrow will be another hard day in the saddle for the peloton. Most of the stage takes part in the inner part of the Marche region, a sparsely populated area.
The stage starts by the Frasassi caves, a cave system which can be visited and is a popular tourist destination. In the first part of the course, there are several uncategorized short climbs, including one leading to Camerino, a tiny town hosting a renowned university. Not long after that comes the first intermediate sprint of the day, in Pieve Torina; then, as the stage reaches its halfway point, the race enters the Monti Sibillini national park, a gorgeous natural area with some stunning landscapes.
The first categorized climb of the day is the cat 2 Forca di Gualdo, which brings the race to a plateau named Pian Perduto (literally lost plateau, sounds 100% like a PokΓ©mon dungeon). The summit is located right at the border with Umbria; after a short descent, cat 3 Forca di Presta will bring the riders back into Marche.
From this second summit, there is a long and gradual descent through an area that was badly hit by two earthquakes in 2016, the first of which caused nearly 300 deaths in central Italy. The descent will finally end in Ascoli Piceno, the largest town along todayβs route and where the second intermediate sprint is located. You might see that the stage actually ends in Ascoli Picenoβ¦ but it actually ends 16 kms after the sprint. And those kms are all uphill! The finish line is in Colle San Giacomo, a resort town above the city, right by the regional border with Abruzzo. The [climb](https://static2.gir
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