Riders will now travel the Italian peninsular from south to north. The 200km fourth stage runs from Catanzaro to the coastal town of Praia a Mare, which makes its debut as a Giro stage city.
Stage 4 is wavy on paper but the first 120 kilometres are relatively straightforward. The route winds its way along fast, flowing roads, which feature a few tunnels. After Cetraro Marina, the route takes in the Bonifati climb and dives into the ss.18 trunk road, then leaves it to tackle the second categorised climb of the day in San Pietro, which has high gradients along the first half of the climb.
The route grows harder after the intermediate sprint in Scalea, with many climbs, descents, twists and turns that lead into the final 10 kilometres.
Stage 4 course profile (Giro d'Italia) Source: Giro d'Italia
The final kilometres are aren't easy. The route takes in the very steep Via del Fortino climb (with ramps topping out at 18 per cent), and then drops into Praia on wide and curving roads. The home straight is 2.5 kilometres long, on a 7.5 metre wide asphalt road, curving just slightly 40 metres before the finish.
Marcel Kittel (Etixx-QuickStep) will start the stage in the Maglia Rosa. He leads Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) by nine seconds and Costa Rica's Andrey Amador (Movistar) by 15 seconds.
Stage 4 final kilometres (Giro d'Italia) Source: Giro d'Italia
