Climbs begin to get rather steep on stage 3. The start is in Vèrres and, after 110 dynamic kilometres, which will take the peloton from Valle d’Aosta to Canavese and up the Lanzo valleys, the peloton will climb the 1761 metres of Pian della Mussa, famous for its aqueduct.
This is a solid climb, 20.1 kilometres long, quite smooth for the first 16, with gradients of 4 to 6%, and then more demanding in the final part, with constant gradients of between 9 and 10%. Those aiming to conquer the Maglia Rosa will have to be ready and, why not, try to send their rivals into trouble.
Vèrres is located at the entrance to the Val d’Ayas, where the imposing Challant manor stands out, a perfect cube that stands as a bulwark of the valley still known today by the name of its noble family. The municipality of Vèrres has been organising since autumn 2014, on the first weekend of October, the now famous gastronimic festival “A Verrès, La Zucca… dall’orto alla Tavola” (In Verrès, The Pumpkin… from the garden to the table), a proper celebration of this fruit of the earth, exalting its tastiness in all its variations and varieties. Also famous is the historical carnival, which every year features the figures of Pierre d’Introd and Caterina di Challant and evokes the dance in the square of the countess.
Vèrres also hosted the start of a stage of the Giro d’Italia: it was 1997 and the stage ended in Borgomanero (arrival town of this year’s stage 4 of the Giro Next Gen) with victory going to Tuscan Alessandro Baronti.
