Giro d’Italia 2025 Stage 16 Preview – Can Isaac del Toro SURVIVE THE TOUGHEST STAGE?

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Hello everyone and welcome to another video here on the cycling day and extra channel and we continue our voyage into the jury 2025 and today is stage 16. Stage 16 is an absolutely incredible stage marked as a five-star stage by the organizers 203 km long and an altitude gain of 4,900 m with four categorized climbs in total with the least one being a cat 2. The stage starts from Piazolo Sul Benta and finishes up the San Valentino and before that there are a significant amount of climbs that the riders will have to tackle. The Partenza takes place in the Patola Sulanta with a elevation gain of only 34 m, a town with a limited direct cycling history. Its main connection being the birthplace of two former cyclists over a century ago. The opening 63.5 km are virtually flat as indicated by the low elevation profile allowing for early breakaway moves potentially to do something before we get the intimate yet sprint coming 39 km into the stage. After that point the road continues to rise and 65.5 km into the stage this is where we have the start of the first categorized climb. This climb is 12.9 km long averaging 4.6% 6% and kicks up to 10% as well. The top of the climb isn’t reached at 75.3 km. It continues up to left Prieka which has a bit more elevation taking the riders up to 113 m in total and the riders will then descend down and immediately have the next categorized climb as well. They go from Trento 103.1 km into the stage. We do have tunnels as well for the riders to go through. But the climb here is 10.1 km long at 7.6% and it kicks up to 13% in parts and finishes up the country. This climb here should be nothing too troubling for the Pelaton, but it will just add to that level of fatigue that they have endured through the other climbs and certainly could be a challenge for many of these more unexperienced riders as well. But it is the second cast climb of the day. The riders once they’ve crested the top of the Cadria will have another climb after a downhill section. This climb is a bit gentler. It’s the VGO cave peaking at 585 m and starts at about 137 m. And here there will be another intermediate sprint. Once the riders have crested the top, they will have another downhill section. And then they come to the Santa Barbara, which peaks at 1168 m and tops out 168.4 km into the stage and marks a significant increase in difficulty. This 12.7 km slog features an average gradient of 8.3% with a profile clearly showing sustained sections of steep climbing. Reaching the summit of the Santa Barbara leaves 34.7 km still to race as well. The Santa Barbara climb also has a max gradient of 14% and it was last used in 2023 when it was Ben Healey who first crested this. Almost half of this remaining distance is downhill, leading the riders to the foot of the Santoio de Bretona to the foot of the Monte Bondon, finishing at 1315 m up the San Valentino climb. Once the riders have topped out of the Santa Barbara, they will have almost a 20 km descent before they get into Muri. Muri is also the foot of where the final climb, the Santa Valentino starts as well. The climb from Mory starts out with 7.3 km at a relatively easy 6.7% but of course the riders have been enduring a lot of climbing until this point. Then they have a bit of a downhill section or a plateau if you will of 1.3% and then the riders about 2 km later kick up again. And this is where we get the hardest part, the 14% section. And this section is the hardest at 9.2% 2% but it does finish after a few kilometers. Then they get an easier section of 6% and then followed by another plateau of 3.7% and then the final kick is 8.9% up to the finishing line. Something that we should add in here as well is how brilliant the planning has been done by the organizers as they have actually put the bonus seconds the Red Bull kilometer on that bonus sprint in the first plateau of the climb. So that is quite significant. This climb has only been used one other time in the jury and that was back in 2021. It was Jeffrey Brousard who was the first rider to pass over the crest and he was also the man who won the monsters classification that year in 2021. So a bit of history with this climb but not a lot in the jury. The mountain village of Brento Nikico last hosted a Jirro stage finish 55 years ago in 1969 when the legendary Eddie Merks took the victory on route to his second overall title in the race. the historical president, an extra layer of significance to the demanding mountain top finish. And stage 16 with its relentless accumulation of climbing and challenging flat ascent to the final climb is undoubtedly a key stage where significant time gaps will emerge and the ambition for the Malar Rosa will either be solidified or completely shattered. This stage is certainly a hard one to predict. You would think that maybe a breakaway will be allowed to get off the road and take the win if none of the GC teams are willing to commit to the resources to pull them back as this GC is very tight. So, could we potentially see someone like Lorenzo Foronato take the stage win and seal a bucketload of GC points? But 4,900 m of climbing is absolutely the queen stage of this year’s Jirro Ditaya and very significant indeed. Other writers that could potentially be in the mix if it is a breakaway. I mean Gorg Steinhauser if he did anything like he did last year would be very significant as well for him. Naid Kintana would definitely be trying to do something as well. Roma by day if he is feeling it could try it. But if we are looking towards the GC guys, it is the likes of Huan Yuzo, Isaac Del Toro or even Risha Carropas who could really make this day count and Antonio Terry if he is feeling better after that crash on stage 14 would definitely like to do something here as well or even Primos Rugglitch but I am a bit worried about Primos on this stage. Anyways, with that that is basically it for this video. Make sure to hit the like button, subscribe to the channel if you haven’t already, and let me know down below who you think is going to be winning the stage here on stage 16. Is this the queen stage? I think so. But until next time, thank you for watching and I will see you around.