We start heading South. Pogatchar (🇸🇮 UAE) has already crushed the race: with 2 victories in -4- 3 stages, he leads the 3 classifications...

Rankings after stage #4.

General time classification

1. Tadey Pogatchar 🇸🇮 UAE
2. Primoj Roglitch 🇸🇮 Bora @ 3′21″
3. Enric Mas 🇪🇸 Movistar @ 3′32″
4. Sepp Kuss 🇺🇸 Visma @ 3′44″
5. Oscar Onley 🇬🇧 Ineos @ 3′45″
6. Richard Carapaz 🇪🇨 EF @ 3′50″
7. Felix Gall 🇦🇹 Decathlon @ 3′57″
8. Matias Skjelmose 🇩🇰 Lidl-Trek @ 4′06″
9. Jarno Widar 🇧🇪 Lotto-Int. @ 4′06″
10. Jay Vine 🇦🇺 UAE @ 4′11″

Points

1. Tadey Pogatchar 🇸🇮 UAE: 82 pts
2. Ethan Hayter 🇬🇧 Soudal-QS: 37
3. Matthew Brennan 🇬🇧 Visma: 30

Mountain

1. Tadey Pogatchar 🇸🇮 UAE: 23 pts
2. Lorenzo Fortunato 🇮🇹 Astana: 10
3. 4 riders with 6 pts

Stages

Stage 5, Wednesday 26

173 km, D+ 1700m*

Whith the hills that start 60 km from the line and end 20-30 from it, this should be a game of sprinters vs punchers. Therefore we should see punchers-sprinters having their day.

NB: the profile exaggerates the steepness of the slopes.

Stage 6, Thursday 27

177 km, D+ 3000m*

Another mountain stage, another Pogatchar day. To make sure of it and remind him of his 3 Stade Bianche victories in a row, there will be 2 km on a gravel road at 12% near the summit of the last climb. Shall the first group to ride down towards the finish line be a one-man group or shall he get a few companions?

Stage 7, Friday 28

150 km, D+ 3600m*

I am not sure how to name this stage. There is quite some elevation, but the vast majority of slopes are smooth. Probably a day for breakaways, coming after an UAE stage.

Stage 8, Saturday 29

172 km, D+ 1300m*

I assume this stage is designed to create a fight between punchers and sprinters. However it didn't work on Wednesday, as everyone wanted a sprint; and this time the slope may be insufficient to get rid of all sprinters.

Stage 9, Sunday 30

188 km, D+ 5000m*

A mountain stage fo finish the week. All sorts of climbs, steep or smooth, short or medium-length, precede a 22 km long final climb. This stage will be very hard, there is no flat section and it is rather long.