The pink caravan sets off from Isernia and the route climbs immediately from the start. In fact, when the riders move through Roccaraso after almost 40 kilometres there have been three sprints for KOM points.
The gradients ease off in Roccaraso and a long descent ushers in an intermediate phase on undulating terrain. It’s the calm before the storm.
The riders tackle the Passo Lanciano – which is another name for Blockhaus – for the first time from Pretoro. After cresting the 10.3 kilometers climb at 7.6% the route descends towards Scafa, only to go back up again.
From Scafa, the finish climb is 26 kilometres long, while the average gradient sits 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%.
The Blockhaus was first included on 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), Franco Pellizotti (2009), and Nairo Quintana (2017) climbed to victory on the sheer endless slopes.
Ride the route yourself? Download GPX stage 9 Giro.
Another interesting read: results 9th stage 2022 Giro d’Italia.
Giro d’Italia 2022 stage 9: route, profile, more
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