Giro d'Italia 2024: The longest final climb of the tour - this is stage 10
Sebastian Lindner
· 14.05.2024
Stage 10 | Tuesday, 14 May | Pompei - Cusano Mutri (Bocca della Selva) | 142 kilometres
Sometimes it is adventurous how RCS rates the Giro stages. The best example is the comparison between the 10th stage and the stage before it. According to official information, both days have a difficulty rating of three out of five stars. While stage 9 was relatively long but still predominantly flat, there is now a mountain finish in Bocca della Selva. The 17.9 kilometre long, 1st category final climb is the longest of the entire tour.
But perhaps the rest day before stage 10 will also play a part in the organisers' assessment. In order to get used to the race mode again, the first 45 kilometres after the start of Pompei, which has little Giro tradition but is all the more historically significant, are completely flat. On the remaining 100 kilometres of the day, however, flat sections in the profile are in short supply.
Now that the Giro is more or less on its way back north - Pompei is the furthest south town on the 2024 course - it's time to head back into the Apennines. The terrain slowly becomes more undulating, initially with uncategorised but steep climbs. After 82 kilometres, the first highlight of the day is reached at Camposauro (2nd category), which is followed by a long descent. The profile remains undulating for another 30 kilometres before reaching the finish in Cusano Mutri.
However, the end is only in the small settlement of Bocca della Selva, which has less than 30 inhabitants and belongs to Cusano Mutri, almost 1000 metres higher up. The Giro has already passed the summit houses twice, but a stage has never ended there. In 2021, stage 8 led over the mountain, but from the other direction. Victor Lafay later won the stage out of a breakaway group, Nikias Arndt finished third.
In 2016, the riders came from the same direction as now, from the south-east. Back then, Tim Wellens was the strongest of a breakaway group. The south-east direction is the harder and longer approach. An average of 5.6 per cent suggests a climb in the roller hill category, but as the last section in particular is significantly steeper, which is diluted by the sheer overall length, this doesn't quite fit.
Sporting assessment of the 10th stage
18 kilometres uphill in one go is a lot. The steeper finale in particular will be a real challenge. In modern cycling, large gaps between the peloton and breakaway riders are an exception, which is why the chances of a successful breakaway group are likely to be rather slim.
However, large gaps between the favourites in the overall classification - except perhaps between Tadej Pogacar and the rest of the field, but that applies to almost every day of this tour where there is some form of ascent - are rather unlikely. The mountain isn't steep enough for that in the end.
Giro d'Italia 2024 - Stage 10: The most important information at a glance
- Mountain stage with mountain finish over 142 kilometres
- Mountain classifications: 2, sprint classifications: 3
- Start time: 13:05
- Estimated arrival time: between 16:58 and 17:27
- TV: from 12:45 pm Eurosport 1
- Live stream: from 12:45 pm Discovery Plus
- More info on TV broadcast & live stream
