Giro 2021 Route stage 8: Foggia - Guardia Sanframondi

Saturday 15 May - Zaterdag 15 mei - At 173 kilometres, the 8th stage of the Giro d'Italia travels Foggia to an uphill finale in Guardia Sanframondi. The route takes in an elevation gain of 3,400 metres.

Foggia hosted the Giro 35 times before, although the last visit was awhile ago – in 1999. Romāns Vainšteins sprinted to victory in Foggia before the race the next day for Laciano, where Jeroen Blijlevens took the spoils.

A sprint finish is not to be expected in stage 8. On the contrary, a number of intermediate climbs will make it a hard day for the fast men. The gradients are never excessive, but still.

The longest ascent is the Bocca della Selva. One could argue that it is a climb in two parts. The first 15 kilometres go up at 4.9% before the riders turn left and enter the last section to the summit: 3.9 kilometres at 4%.

Still 54 kilometres to go after the Bocca della Selva, almost 40 of which fly downhill. A false flat section and short drop leads onto the finish climb. Starting in Telese Terme, the ascent to the line is 8.4 kilometres long and the average gradient sits at 3.3%. The first part rises false flat, the second part is much steeper and ramps up to almost 15%.

The second intermediate sprint comes with 3, 2 and 1 seconds, while time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds are awarded to the first three riders on the line.

The 8th stage of the Giro d’Italia starts at 12.40 and the race is expected to finish around 17.15 – both are local times (CEST).