Basically, the route of stage 9 is a prelude to the closing climb. Two warm-up climbs, at kilometre 19 and at kilometre 91 – the rest of the route is played out on flat roads until the riders hit the base of the Passo Lanciano.
The inclination begins in Scafa and if you start counting here the Passo Lanciano-climb amounts to a stunning 26 kilometres at 7.3%. The official distance and gradient may be different – 13.6 kilometres at 8.4% -, the fact remains that the legs of the riders will be tested from Scafa onwards. Even more disturbing to some will be the average gradient of the last 10 kilometres: 9,4%, while this section features the steepest stretch of 14%.
Passo Lanciano is also called Blockhaus. The pass was first climbed in the 1967 Giro d’Italia with Eddy Merckx powering to his first stage win in a Grand Tour. Since then Franco Bitossi (1968), José Manuel Fuente (1972), Moreno Argentin (1984), Ivan Basso (2006) and Franco Pellizotti (2009) climbed to victory on the sheer endless slopes.
The first three riders on the line take time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the two last sprint (at kilometre 94.6) comes with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.
Results/race report 9th stage 2017 Giro d’Italia.
Giro 2017 stage 9: Route maps, height profiles, and more
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Climb details Blockhaus in 3D
Scheduled times
Start and finish at Google maps
Streetview top Blockhaus
