While the stade bianche will be the favourite section of the course for spectators, tonight's stage combines flat and mountain roads in the long lead up to the decisive climb.
The route runs up the Tiber River valley, after rolling past Assisi and Perugia, all the way up to Città di Castello. The roads are quite wide but with worn out surfaces in places and narrowing when cutting through urban areas.
Stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia (RCS Sport) Source: RCS Sport
Just past Città di Castello, the route leaves the Tiber River valley to tackle the steep Anghiari ascent first, followed by the Scheggia categorised climb. The route rolls along wavy roads with a few narrower sectors while crossing urban areas all the way up to Indicatore (intermediate sprint) and Arezzo.
Next on the route, after a first pass over the finish line, is the Alpe di Poti climb, which features the 6.4km of dirt roads and double-digit gradients.
After clearing the KOM summit, the road drops quickly into Foce dello Scopetone and straight into the finish.
The final kilometres run entirely within the city. A fast descent down from Scopetone, with wide bends, leads to the stadium. The route then cuts across the city centre where traffic dividers and roundabouts will be the main obstacles.
After the “flamme rouge” the route takes two right-hand bends on wide roundabouts and passes under a medieval gateway. A short, steep climb (first on asphalt road and then on stone-slab paving) leads to a 200 metre home straight, which is slightly uphill with an approximate gradient of five per cent gradient on six metre wide stone-slab paving.
Australian Adam Hansen (Lotto Soudal) has marked this stage in his playbook for an early breakaway. If he's successful, that will make four wins in a row for Lotto Soudal. It's safe to say that if he does make a lucky escape, rival teams will ensure that the win certainly won't come easily.
