The most important information about stage 4 of the Giro d'Italia 2026
- Tuesday, 12 May: Catanzaro - Cosenza
- 138 kilometres, 1800 vertical metres (flat)
- 1 uphill classification: KM 95.0 (2nd category)
- Intermediate sprint KM 80.5
- Red Bull Kilometres: KM 126.4
- Start: 13:40, finish: approx. 17:13
- Live ticker and results
The route of the 4th stage of the Tour of Italy
After the first rest day, which hardly deserves its name due to the long transfer, the Giro d'Italia reaches its home country for stage 4. The teams leave Sofia by charter flight and set off for Calabria - the tip of Italy's boot. The fourth stage of the tour starts in Catanzaro.
The profile of the stage is very reminiscent of the last day in Bulgaria, but is significantly shorter, which can be seen as a concession by the race organisation to the stress of the journey. The route leads to the Thyrrenian coast and is largely flat for 80 kilometres before the Cozzo Tunno has to be crossed on the return inland. There are 14.5 kilometres of climbing with an average gradient of just under six percent.
From the highest point, it is another 40 kilometres to the day's finish in Cosenza. After a long downhill section - interrupted only by a small intermediate climb - the last few kilometres are then slightly uphill again, with the 450-metre-long finishing straight averaging 3.7 per cent.
Sporting assessment of the 4th stage of the Giro d'Italia 2026
It's been a long time since a stage of the Giro ended in Cosenza. In the 60s and 80s, the city was still a regular guest, with the last winner being the Swiss rider Rolf Järmann in 1989. He won as a soloist. A similar scenario is also conceivable this time. Because unlike the day in Sofia, the fourth stage could well be one for breakaways.
Like the Borovets Pass, the Cozzo Tunno is also a rolling mountain that the more experienced sprinters can manage quite well. But this time it's not quite as far to the finish. Even if the last ten kilometres or so are uphill again and therefore extremely energy-sapping, especially in a group, the breakaway riders have fewer kilometres in their legs overall and are therefore a little fresher.
When the Giro 2020 passed through Cosenza for the last time, there were still 35 kilometres to go. Most of it led up to the Valico di Monte Scuro. Filippo Ganna, who won four stages of the tour that year, won in the end. Ganna would be the type of rider to come into question again this time, should a group decide the victory among themselves. However, a bunch sprint is by no means out of the question.
