Stage 5 – PRAIA A MARE - BENEVENTO – 233 km
This very long stage (233km) winds its way mostly on fast-flow roads. The first part runs entirely uphill (with milder or harsher gradients), with constant undulations further on, up to 30km remaining to the finish. The final part leading into Benevento runs slightly downhill, until it reaches the city for the last section.
Final kms
The final kilometres run entirely within the city. The first part rolls on wide and straight avenues, climbing at first, and then descending. The second part runs on more narrow and curvy inner streets, with a sharp turn 1,200m before the finish. The home stretch is 200m long and slightly uphill, on a 7m wide porphyry-paved road.
POINTS OF INTEREST
PRAIA A MARE – km 0
Praia a Mare hosts a stage start as well as the previous day’s finish. The route heads north again, but leaves the coastline, cutting inland across a course that’s hilly, but with no major climbs. Tourism began to thrive in the lovely “blue flag” seaside town of Praia a Mare between the 1960s and 1990s. The town is home to a number of military buildings, such as Rocca di Praia, a 14-century fortification built by the Normans.
FORTINO (KOM) – km 37
The route skirts Maratea, Lauria, Sapri and Lagonegro, ultimately reaching the third-category climb in Fortino, the day’s only KOM climb, marking the passage from Calabria to Campania.
MONTESANO SCALO – km 54 and SALA CONSILINA – km 70
The stage course hits Casalbuono, Montesano Scalo and Sala Consilina, amongst the 15 municipalities in the lively centre of Vallo di Diano, as it enters Salerno province. The route runs across the bottom of the valley, among the towns that rise on the surrounding upland of this as UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Sala Consilina-born Giovanni Crisostomo Martini (1852-1922) was an Italian patriot and soldier, and naturalized American. He became famous as he was the only soldier in Custer’s Last Stand who survived the Battle of Little Bighorn (1876), fought between the US Cavalry and the native American Sioux and Cheyennes.
In 1972, Fabrizio Fabbri won the Foggia-Montesano Terme stage. In 1990, Giovanni Fidanza won the stage from Bari to Sala Consilina ahead of Gianni Bugno, Fignon and Mottet.
POLLA (intermediate sprint) – km 85, BUCCINO junction – km 102 and PALOMONTE (intermediate sprint) – km 118
CALABRITTO junction– km 138, LIONI junction – km 154 and MONTELLA junction – km 167
The route runs across the bottom of the valley and past the villages of Calabritto, Teora, Lioni, Nusco, Montella and Volturara Irpina, on the surrounding hills. This farming region, with lush woodland and chestnut groves, is remembered for the disastrous Irpinia earthquake that struck in 1980, killing almost 3,000 people.
SAN POTITO ULTRA junction – km 189 and PRATOLA SERRA – km 201
Next is San Potito Ultra, home to the “Museo del lavoro” (Museum of Work), then the Pianodardine industrial area, close to the provincial capital, Avellino. The route then runs along the Mount Partenio massif, home to the Montevergine di Mercogliano Sanctuary, reaching the town of Pratola Serra.
The Sanctuary is a monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary and is listed among the national monuments. It houses the painting of the Madonna of Montevergine, venerated by about one and a half million pilgrims every year.
BENEVENTO – km 233
Benevento has historically been the chief city of Samnium, a region whose proud and brave population fought the Romans, most famously at the battle of the Caudine Forks (321 BC), where Montesarchio now lies. The Roman army was forced to surrender, and humiliated by passing under a yoke, which still stands as a symbol of shame. Major landmarks include the church of Santa Sofia, built in 760, and its monumental complex, which have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites; the Castle, also known as Rocca dei Rettori; and the city walls and palaces.
Local cuisine includes different kinds of nougat and the famous Liquore Strega, a herbal liqueur produced by Guido Alberti (1909-1996), entrepreneur, actor, and sponsor of the major international literary award, established in 1947.
Benevento has already hosted several stage finishes, with victory going to Costante Girardengo (1925), to Adriano Durante (1965), Ercole Gualazzini (1971), Roger De Vlaeminck (1973), Giuseppe Saronni (1978), Robbie McEwen (2002), and Michele Scarponi (2009). Last year, Benevento was start city of stage 9.
TV COVERAGE
TV coverage of the 99th Giro d’Italia will reach all four corners of the world: 184 countries will see the Corsa Rosa on 29 different networks, 24 of them live.
ITALY
RAI – Radio Televisione Italiana, the longstanding host broadcaster, provides extensive coverage of the Corsa Rosa. The action is live in three separate programmes: “Prima diretta” ("Pre-Live") on Rai Sport 1, “Giro in diretta” ("Giro Live") at 15:10 - 16:15 in simulcast on Rai 3 and Rai HD, and “Giro all’arrivo” ("Giro on the Finish Line"), with the last hour of racing until 17:15. The traditional post-race analysis programme "Processo alla Tappa" ("The Stage on Trial") ends at 18:00.
When the race reaches Italy, the stage start will be covered in Rai Sport 1's "Giro Mattina" ("Giro Morning"), showing the signing in ceremony, with interviews, the start of racing, and local colour. The strand "Journey through the Italy of the Giro d'Italia" will show historical and cultural anecdotes and features.
For viewers unable to watch the stage live in the afternoon, the evening show TGiro ("Giro Bulletin") will tell the story of the day's racing from 20:00 on Rai Sport 1, followed by Giro Notte ("Late Night Giro"), with 90’ of stage highlights from 22:45 on Rai Sport 2. The Corsa Rosa will be streamed on the website www.rai.tv.
AROUND THE WORLD
In Italy the Giro can also be seen live on Eurosport, broadcasting to 53 countries across Europe from 14:15, with race commentary in 19 languages.
In France, the stages are live exclusively on beINSports, with reports and features from the scene.
The Dutch public broadcaster NOS is showing three hours of live racing of the first three stages in the Netherlands, as well as the final 90 minutes of the weekend stages in Italy, plus daily highlights of every stage.
Free to air race coverage is live in Flemish via VRT, in Danish on TV2 Denmark, in Switzerland via SRG SSR, in Spain via Teledeporte and EITB and in Kazakhstan, in highlights, on Kaz Sports.
The Corsa Rosa is live in Latin America on ESPN, with Portuguese commentary in Brazil, English commentary in the Caribbean and Spanish across the rest of South America. Colombian fans have a wide range of options, with live coverage on RCN and Señal Colombia. TDN is showing the race live in Mexico and Central America. beIN Sports is covering the Giro in the United States of America and RDS is providing French-language coverage in Canada.
The Giro d’Italia is also on the small screen in the Middle East and North Africa thanks to live coverage on beIN Sports, while in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa the Giro is on the Supersport channels.
In Asia, the Corsa Rosa in available in 16 countries via Eurosport Asia Pacific; J Sports is covering the race live and exclusive in Japan. LeTV is doing the same in China.
Race highlights are on FPT Telecom in Vietnam, while the Thai public can enjoy the key parts of the stage on both True Visions and NOW26.
The huge interest that Australia has shown in the Giro continues in 2016: SBS is showing all 21 stage live, while Fox Sports is showing highlights. In New Zealand, Sky is showing the race live and in highlights.
Finally, the Corsa Rosa is being shown worldwide via SNTV - Sports News Television and Sport24, the 24 hour sports channel for airline and cruise ship passengers.
#Giro