The riders roll out for the neutral start in Manerba del Garda. They’ll have 6.7km to warm up the legs, before the official 222km begin.
Are you as excited for today as Lidl-Trek?
Chapeau to Jonathan Milan for being in such high spirits. He’s likely to finish today in the gruppetto, which will probably ride an hour longer than the first finishers.
Getting ready for the queen stage with the dancing queen 👑 #Giroditalia pic.twitter.com/MUPwo71HwyMay 19, 2024
That’s right, it’s likely to be over six hours in the saddle for the riders today.
Today’s stage is a brute. It’s uphill from the gun, with a cat-three climb, a cat-two, and then a punishing duo of cat-ones.
As if all that wasn’t enough, the final kilometres are totally leg-sapping, counting gradients up to 19%, at over 2,300m altitude. If it comes down to a mountaintop shoot-out, this could be a very dramatic finale.