Racing

Giro d’Italia 2015 – preview: where the race will be won or lost

Long time trial, brutal climbs and unpaved roads to decide the final destination of the pink jersey

Stage five – La Spezia to Abetone

The 2015 Giro d'Italia boasts a balanced parcours, which has attracted a stellar cast of riders (pic: RCS Sport)
The first summit finish of this year's race is on stage five (pic: RCS Sport)
The sole individual time trial will offer the likes of Rigoberto Uran and Richie Porte to make big strides overall (pic: RCS Sport)
Stage 15 finishes atop the Madonna di Campiglio, scene of Marco Pantani's solo triumph in 1999 (pic: Sirotti)
Stage 16 is packed with brutal climbs, not least the Passo di Motorolo (pic: RCS Sport)
Stage 19 is bottom heavy, with three climbs packed in after more than 150 kilometres will already have been raced (pic: RCS Sport)
The Cima Coppi, this year, is on the 'unpaved' climb, the Colle delle Finestre - the latter half is untarmacked while the entire climb boasts a mean average gradient (pic: RCS Sport)

Stage five – La Spezia to Abetone

Though the Giro parcours is well balanced this year, the race is a little bottom heavy with some brutal climbs packed into the final week.

The first summit finish of the race, therefore, could give somebody the chance to open up an early lead.

While the team time trial can be perilous – just ask Garmin-Sharp after Dan Martin’s race-ending crash, which also dumped co-leader Ryder Hesjedal right down the general classification, last year – the climb up to Abetone will be the first real opportunity to strike home an individual advantage.

With Porte in top form, it could be here that the Team Sky man bids to build up an early advantage, while Contador, Rigoberto Uran and Fabio Aru will also be keen to test their climbing legs.

The climb is some 17.3km in length with an average gradient of 5.4 per cent, and while the out-and-out climbers should not be too fearful it is a day when some early gaps could appear overall.

The Foce Carpinelli climbs will already have been crested by the time the peloton starts the climb from La Lima, and the mostly straight ascent – particularly in the last five kilometres – will separate contenders from pretenders at the head of the race.