Today’s stage at the Giro d'Italia can offer a chance for the escapees, but also the punchers will get an opportunity to show themselves as the final kilometre goes uphill. At about twenty kilometres from the finish, a climb of the second category with gravel roads needs to be covered.

Lotto Soudal asked our Aussie Adam Hansen what he thinks about today’s challenge.

“I’ve been through a lot of things during my fourteenth consecutive Grand Tours, but winning three stages in a row is something I’ve never seen before," he said. "And who knows… Performing equally good in today’s stage would just be incredible.

"If I’m a candidate? Of course! This is a stage I marked before the start of this Giro. The hardest and most underestimated thing in cycling is to be in the right break. That will be my first job today. I think and hope that the GC riders won’t react so the escapees will have a chance to stay ahead.

"I don’t mind riding on the ‘sterrati’ on the final climb as I already know these roads from the Strade Bianche and the Giro. A final – very important – fact will be the composition of the group. A lot of riders already have a big defitcit in the GC, but it won’t be easy for them to compete with someone who really wants to win today."