A stage that touches the sky, with challenging climbs, boundless panoramas and silent valleys. From the hills to the high altitudes, entering the mountainous heart of Le Marche, where every ride is a conquest and every glance embraces infinity.

From Tolentino, the journey changes pace and heads towards the Apennines. The first few kilometres pass fields and gentle undulations, but is soon followed by a steep climb to the higher hinterland. You enter the wild heart of Le Marche, with more rugged landscapes and increasingly open views. Fiastra appears after a long climb: a small village and a lake nestling in the mountains, a mirror of peace and silence. But the climb continues, up to the 1,500 metres of Piani di Ragnolo, then down to Sassotetto, passing through high-altitude scenery that remains imprinted in the heart. You then descend towards Sarnano, between hairpin bends and woods. The arrival is thrilling: Mediaeval Sarnano welcomes you with its spa waters and lush nature. This is one of the most intense, spectacular stages: exhausting, but deeply satisfying, among peaks, villages and infinite horizons. Tomorrow we start again, but in the meantime we celebrate the feat.