Arguably the easiest stage on this year’s route, these 153.5km take the race into the heart of Champagne country to finish in the beautiful cathedral city of Reims.
While not as flat as previous stages, there are no significant lumps and it’s a relatively short distance. That means that there’s barely time for any breakaway riders to build a useful advantage before the sprinters’ teams will gather to chase them down.
A possible complicating factor is the wind on Champagne’s exposed plains, but it would have to be some breeze to trouble the peloton enough to lead to a split. Nevertheless, if it is windy you can expect the riders to be nervous. Ultimately, that’s likely to mean that crashes are a bigger threat to the favourites than the formation of echelons.
Stage profile
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UCI Gravel World Series: Early sprint clinches Geerike Schreurs victory at The Gralloch while Lukas Pöstlberger crosses the line solo to keep wins rolling
Karolina Migoń and Jenson Young claim runner-up spots after heading out in the early breaks -
Giro d'Italia penalties, fines and yellow cards – All the punishments handed out at the 2026 race
Tracking the rule infringements and penalties accrued on the road from Bulgaria to Rome -
Netcompany Ineos say 'nothing has changed' in Egan Bernal's GC hunt at Giro d'Italia despite several setbacks in opening week
'Of course, we can't hide the gap, this is clear, but we have to keep our belief high' says DS Basso with Colombian 15th overall, 6:18 off the lead -
'Jai is a bit older, maybe also a bit wiser' – Red Bull try to maintain balance between former winner Hindley and unrestricted home star Pellizzari at Giro d'Italia
DS Pömer says stopping Italian from trying to follow Vingegaard on Blockhaus 'would have been a moment he would regret his entire life'
