Giro 2020 - Stage 6: Castrovillari – Matera 188 km *Spoilers*

Stage 6: Castrovillari – Matera 188 km
Thursday, October 8th, 10:40 BST

At 188 kilometres, the 6th stage of the Giro d'Italia is a lumpy race from Castrovillari to Matera. It's a medium mountain stage that has an an interesting finale.



Most climbing is clustered in the first half of the race. Almost from the gun in Castrovillari the route goes uphill, climbing towards the first (uncategorized) climb of the day, measuring around 11 km at 4.5%, which is likely to serve as a launch pad for the breakaway. As the gradients are relatively shallow, all types of riders could be in the mix.



After 20 kilometres the riders reach the highest point before a long descent leads onto the next climb. The length is approximately 13 kilometres and the gradients are – again – doable at around 4%. Another descent leads onto a flat intermediate phase.
The steepest climb of the day appears with roughly 30 kilometres remaining. The Millotta is categorised GPM3, 4.7km at 6.8%.



It tops at 26 km to go, 8 km of which are a descent. At the bottom there are only 7 km of flat before the road starts ascending again towards the finishing town of Matera. The 2013 Giro d’Italia serves a finish in Matera after a flat stages. John Degenkolb took the spoils in a crash marked sprint finale.



Until 4 km to go the slopes will be very gentle. Then, after a short descending false flat there will be a 750m ramp at 6.3%, which ends at 2 km to go. From there on it’s only false flat.



Castrovillari

A charming town located on a hollow at 360 meters above sea level, Castrovillari, with its approximately 22 thousand inhabitants, is the most important Center of the Pollino National Geopark. The name “Castrovillari” probably derives from the late medieval Latin “castrum villarum” (literally “fortress of the villas”).



Food

Baccalà e Patate, “Lampascioni” e uova,



Fagioli in Pignatta, Broccoli e Salsiccia, Maccheroni ai ferretti.


Drink

The grape variety of Pollino is, without a doubt, Magliocco.




Matera

Matera is a fascinating place. It has been inhabited from Paleolithic times to this day and it is extremely photogenic. Dozens of movies have been shot here, including the new James Bond: No Time to Die.



Soft rock has given birth to the Sassi, revealing both its cave districts: they are divided by a spectacular canyon. A unique location nominated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its historical, archaeological and landscape value. Pure and authentic scenery with no signs of modernity, the Murgia Materana and the Sassi have seen traces of man since prehistoric times and bear witness to the history of humanity, having been continuously inhabited.



Food

Matera is the ideal location to taste the delicious regional cuisine and wines, bearing the DOP and IGP quality marks. Among the local specialities, there is Matera bread, with its fragrant flavour and characteristic shape that reminds of the Murgia landscapes. The bread is baked in wood-fired ovens and made using durum wheat and natural yeast. Cheeses are also exceptional, as they are produced using Podolica cattle, which can be easily spotted grazing freely in the pastures of the Murgia. Mouth-watering specialities include the ‘Fave e Cicorie’ recipe, a fava bean puree with chicory, and the ‘Crapiata’, which is the traditional mixed legume soup of Matera. ‘Matera DOC’ wines, both white and red, are also exceptional.











"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
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Comments

  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,218
    Is this going to be a Bora smash it from the start day as they try to drop sprinters or is the final climb tough enough that they can leave it until then?
  • Pross said:

    Is this going to be a Bora smash it from the start day as they try to drop sprinters or is the final climb tough enough that they can leave it until then?

    I think the final categorised climb looks hard enough to get rid of most of the sprinters (except Sagan), then the little 750m ramp finishing with 2km to go will move the rest of them too far back. The way Ulissi rode on Sunday though... looks like another possible win for him.
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 16,646
    Soft break
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • prawny
    prawny Posts: 5,439
    edited October 2020
    Hope Rob’s Ok, sounded like the commentary booth was filling up with water then.
    Saracen Tenet 3 - 2015 - Dead - Replaced with a Hack Frame
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  • Sun is out though and there could be wind about later...
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 16,646
    This going to be "une arrive tricksee" ?
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 16,646
    una finitura difficile
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • Another regular tarmac taster, Tony Martin samples some Calabrian corner.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 16,646
    Still DQS riding ?
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 16,646
    No Bora
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • orraloon
    orraloon Posts: 12,615
    Just realised my Player app running approx 70km behind live! 😊 Thanks for the Bora tip.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,249
    Sagan a naughty boy for stopping on the left.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,741
    edited October 2020
    Another day, another freak accident.
    McNulty runs smack bang into the back of the pink jersey Almeida, who had stopped for a jersey change.
    Looked to me to as if he head butted the crash barrier with considerable force.

    Pull him out of the race?
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • gsk82
    gsk82 Posts: 3,439

    Another day, another freak accident.
    McNulty runs smack bang into the back of the pink jersey Almeida, who had stopped for a jersey change.
    Looked to me to as if he head butted the crash barrier with considerable force.

    Pull him out of the race?

    No. Rider safety is only important when it's the organisations fault.
    "Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,218

    Another day, another freak accident.
    McNulty runs smack bang into the back of the pink jersey Almeida, who had stopped for a jersey change.
    Looked to me to as if he head butted the crash barrier with considerable force.

    Pull him out of the race?

    I would have thought that the protocol if you are going to stop like that would be to drift to the back first and then pull over, it seems a bit risky to just pull over to the side and stop with half the peloton to still come through.

    Not the most scenic stage today, other than the buildings it feels more like a Vuelta stage with arid looking hills and functionally basic structures.
  • DeadCalm
    DeadCalm Posts: 4,099
    Assuming Ineos are riding for Narváez. Thats a potentially decent lead out hes got there with Dennis, Ganna and Swift.
    Team My Man 2022:

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  • Headwind has killed the stage a bit.
    Not sure whether the likes of Demare won't be there to contest this.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,137
    DeadCalm said:

    Assuming Ineos are riding for Narváez. Thats a potentially decent lead out hes got there with Dennis, Ganna and Swift.


    Is he a sprinter?
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • DeadCalm
    DeadCalm Posts: 4,099
    RichN95. said:

    DeadCalm said:

    Assuming Ineos are riding for Narváez. Thats a potentially decent lead out hes got there with Dennis, Ganna and Swift.


    Is he a sprinter?
    Yup.
    Team My Man 2022:

    Antwan Tolhoek, Sam Oomen, Tom Dumoulin, Thymen Arensman, Remco Evenepoel, Benoît Cosnefroy, Tom Pidcock, Mark Cavendish, Romain Bardet
  • Very easy Demare.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,218
    That's how to win a sprint. Different class.
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 16,646
    Nibali got Sagan swamped
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • Demare's movement through the pack there to get back up to the front is a thing of beauty.
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 16,646
    Demare delivers .
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • davidof
    davidof Posts: 3,032
    Pross said:

    That's how to win a sprint. Different class.

    Demare a demarrer
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  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,218
    DeadCalm said:

    Assuming Ineos are riding for Narváez. Thats a potentially decent lead out hes got there with Dennis, Ganna and Swift.

    He had a great position until around 400m to go then seem to lose ground on the bend and then got bullied out of position a bit and made to ride in the wind. I thought Swift might have had a decent chance but ended up at the front too early, presumably deliberately.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,218
    Eisel saying cross tailwind forecast all day tomorrow. Could be fun!!
  • DeadCalm
    DeadCalm Posts: 4,099
    Pross said:

    Eisel saying cross tailwind forecast all day tomorrow. Could be fun!!

    Who's going to provoke the splits? You'd normally expect DQS or Ineos but the DQS team at the Giro is not that kind of team, and while Dennis and Ganna have the attributes, do they have the experience? Where are Rowe and Kwiatkowski when you need them?
    Team My Man 2022:

    Antwan Tolhoek, Sam Oomen, Tom Dumoulin, Thymen Arensman, Remco Evenepoel, Benoît Cosnefroy, Tom Pidcock, Mark Cavendish, Romain Bardet
  • orraloon
    orraloon Posts: 12,615
    Pross said:


    Not the most scenic stage today, other than the buildings it feels more like a Vuelta stage with arid looking hills and functionally basic structures.

    Matera looked pretty damn impressive.
  • DeadCalm said:

    Pross said:

    Eisel saying cross tailwind forecast all day tomorrow. Could be fun!!

    Who's going to provoke the splits? You'd normally expect DQS or Ineos but the DQS team at the Giro is not that kind of team, and while Dennis and Ganna have the attributes, do they have the experience? Where are Rowe and Kwiatkowski when you need them?
    Castroviejo, Puccio and Swift are handy in a breeze.

    Sagan and Bodnar will certainly want to put the pure sprinters in the gutter and they do have a bit of history. ;)
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.