Stage 16: Valloire to Ivrea, 238km, medium mountains

I have a picture in my head of the race organisers putting together a rough draft of the Corsa Rosa, then rubbing their hands together as they plan those nasty little twists to the stages. This is one of those times when they must have had fun. The riders are just coming off their second rest day, which is always a dangerous time. They’re relaxed just enough to know how much they really hurt and it can be difficult to get right back into the swing of the race. So with that in mind, they have a short climb of the Col du Telegraphe (again) at the start before having to tackle the Col du Mont Cenis (again). Then a large portion of the stage is across the Turin flat. But wait! 20km from the finish they have to negotiate the cat 3 Andrate before they can freewheel down to the finish in Ivrea. In the words of the old TV show: danger, Will Robinson, danger!

Link: Official website