Giro 2020 Favourites stage 4: Fast men, despite long climb

Another factor is the length of the race – just 140 kilometres. The Giro is still young and the legs are fresh, so surviving the climb should be easy for the likes of Matthews and Sagan.

The only climb of the day is the Portella Mandrazzi. The length is impressive, 19.5 kilometres, but the average gradient is not, 4%. The steepest section goes up at merely 7.6%, so that’s another factor pointing to a likely sprint in Villafranca Tirreno.

Furthermore, after the descent the route runs 40 kilometres on the flat, given the sprint teams plenty of time to bring their fast men back to the front.

Obviously, a team of sprinters with climber’s legs, such as Matthews, will want to up the pace on the Portella Mandrazzi to get rid off the likes of Viviani. And they don’t to want to let them return on the flat part. This should give the race an interesting dynamic.

Favourites stage 4 Giro d’Italia 2020
*** Peter Sagan, Michael Matthews
** Arnaud Démare, Fernando Gaviria, Diego Ulissi
* Elia Viviani, Davide Ballerini, Sebastian Molano

Another interesting read: route stage 4 Giro d’Italia 2020.