WorldTour
Inside the Giro’s Fastest Test: The Stage 10 ITT
The Giro d’Italia’s only individual time trial comes on Stage 10, with 42 kilometres between Viareggio and Massa that could reshape the race.
There are days in a Grand Tour when the race becomes familiar: the road rises, the group thins, the leaders watch each other. Stage 10 of the 2026 Giro d’Italia asks a different question. Ahead of the 42-kilometre individual time trial from Viareggio to Massa, we asked Dan Bigham, Head of Engineering at Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe, what really decides a day like this.
There will be no peloton to hide in. No domestique to close the gap. No significant climb on which to wait for instinct to take over. Just 42 kilometres, almost entirely flat, and one rider at a time trying to turn preparation into speed.
Coming immediately after the Giro’s second rest day, the only individual time trial of this year’s race is one of the clearest technical tests on the route. Officially listed at 42.0 kilometres with just 50 metres of elevation gain, it is a stage defined by position, pacing, equipment, wind, concentration, and the ability to hold a precise effort for roughly fifty minutes to an hour.
From an engineering point of view, that changes almost everything.
“This is an incredibly aerodynamics-focused time trial,” says Dan. “The stage is essentially dominated by watts per CdA, producing high power while minimising aerodynamic drag.”
WATTS PER CdA
How much power riders can produce compared to the aerodynamic drag they create. More watts and lower CdA mean more speed
For Bigham, the priorities are clear: “pure aerodynamics, sustainable power production, pacing discipline and positional discipline.”
“Riders who can maintain a highly aero position while delivering smooth, consistent power across the entire course will perform best.”
On paper, it is simple. In practice, that simplicity is part of the problem.
A flat course leaves little room for natural variation. There are no long climbs to break the effort into sections, no meaningful descents to offer recovery, no steep gradients to force a tactical reset. Instead, the rhythm has to be built and defended from the start.
“This kind of sustained 50-minute threshold effort is extremely demanding because there are virtually no opportunities to recover,” Bigham explains. “On more variable TT courses with climbs and descents, riders naturally get periods of lower load and recovery. Here, the effort is continuous and unforgiving.”
On more variable TT courses with climbs and descents, riders naturally get periods of lower load and recovery. Here, the effort is continuous and unforgiving
That is why the work begins long before the start ramp. The rider may be alone on the road, but the performance is built by a much larger system: simulation, equipment selection, course reconnaissance, pacing strategy, weather analysis and the rider’s ability to execute under pressure.
“A huge amount is prepared well in advance,” says Bigham. “Using advanced TT simulation software developed with Red Bull Advanced Technologies, the team can model likely optimal gearing, tyre choice, wheel selection, pacing plans and positional setups long before race day.”
By race day, the big decisions have usually been made. What remains is detail.
“Most of the major decisions are already made, and the focus becomes fine-tuning: small adjustments to tyre pressure, occasional gearing tweaks, and minor pacing refinements as the weather forecast becomes more accurate.”
In time trial mode
© Red Bull Content Pool
The course recon is part of that process. On a stage with so little climbing and relatively few technical interruptions, it is not only about learning the corners. It is about finding the fastest version of the road.
“The recon focused mainly on road surface quality, identifying the smoothest riding line, avoiding rough sections and potholes, and refining corner execution,” says Bigham. “The team also assessed braking points and optimal lines through the few technical corners, particularly the hairpin with around 3.5 kilometres remaining, where meaningful time can be gained or lost.”
Road surface also feeds directly into tyre decisions. Rolling resistance, grip and aerodynamic behaviour do not exist separately. They interact.
“Road surface quality plays a major role in tyre and pressure selection,” Bigham says. “The goal is to better predict the optimal trade-off between rolling resistance, grip and aerodynamic performance. Surface roughness, cornering demands and weather conditions all influence the decision.”
The coastal setting gives the stage another layer. A route that follows the seafront for long stretches may look controlled on a profile, but conditions can shift the demands quickly. A headwind changes the value of aerodynamics. A crosswind tests stability and position. A tailwind can push speeds high enough that holding form on the bike becomes its own discipline.
Nico Denz during the 2026 Paris-Nice ITT
© Red Bull Content Pool
“The coastal setting has a major influence, primarily because of the wind,” says Bigham. “As a point-to-point time trial on exposed seafront roads, wind direction and changing conditions can significantly affect performance. Headwinds, tailwinds and crosswinds can all create very large time differences across a 42-kilometre effort.”
That is also why conditions matter for the GC picture.
“GC riders ideally want to start in very similar conditions to one another,” Bigham adds, “because changing wind conditions can create substantial advantages or disadvantages that are completely outside the riders’ control.”
Wind does not only influence pacing. It also shapes the equipment question, although modern aerodynamic design has made that question more sophisticated than simply choosing a conservative set-up in crosswinds.
“The goal now is to achieve excellent performance not only at low yaw angles but also at higher yaw angles,” Bigham explains. “Much of this comes down to front wheel and tyre interaction. The team wants to maintain attached airflow over the front wheel and tyre at higher yaw angles, effectively increasing the stall angle.”
Yaw angle
The angle at which the wind hits the rider and bike. A headwind is low yaw; a crosswind creates higher yaw.
If that is achieved, crosswinds are not only something to survive.
“This improves both handling stability and aerodynamic performance, including the potential ‘sailing effect’, where crosswinds can actually help reduce drag and generate forward thrust,” says Bigham.
The Sailing Effect
A crosswind can sometimes reduce drag by pushing against the wheel at the right angle, helping the bike move faster.
The fastest set-up, then, is not simply the most extreme one. It is the one a rider can actually hold, at race intensity.
“That balance is central to the entire aerodynamic optimisation process,” Bigham says. “The engineering goal is always to push towards the fastest possible position aerodynamically, while allowing the rider enough time and training exposure to physiologically adapt to it.”
Power is central, but it is not the whole story. On a course this long and this flat, the opening kilometres can be dangerous precisely because they feel controllable.
“Power is the primary metric, particularly in the opening section of the race,” Bigham says. “Early pacing discipline is critical because riders need to avoid exceeding their sustainable threshold too soon.”
Gianni Moscon during the 2026 Itzulia time trial
© Red Bull Content Pool
As the effort goes on, the race becomes more internal.
“Over time the effort becomes increasingly governed by rider sensation and experience. Elite riders understand what sustainable threshold intensity feels like and learn to sit right on that limit. As fatigue builds, the challenge becomes less about chasing a number and more about managing the effort instinctively without overreaching too early.”
For fans, the spectacle may appear stripped back: one rider, one bike, one road, one clock. Inside the team, it is anything but simple.
“Fans often underestimate just how relentlessly difficult the effort is,” says Bigham. “This stage is actually very similar in character to the hour record: around 50 minutes of sustained, uninterrupted effort at the limit, with almost no recovery. It demands total concentration and an enormous ability to tolerate discomfort while maintaining perfect pacing and positional discipline.”
For Red Bull BORA hansgrohe, Jai Hindley and Giulio Pellizzari will arrive at the Giro with the mountains central to their ambitions, yet Stage 10 sits at the heart of the route for a reason. In a Grand Tour, climbing well is rarely enough on its own. The race asks for different forms of discipline across three weeks, and on the road to Massa, the discipline is exacting: hold the line, hold the position, hold the effort.
Dan Bigham has helped prepare the riders for the Stage 10 ITT
© Red Bull Content Pool
Within the GC group, Bigham expects the team’s riders to be highly competitive.
“I expect them to perform very strongly because they are extremely well prepared for the demands of the event,” he says. “However, compared to the absolute specialist time trial riders, this is not an entirely equal contest. The course is heavily dominated by raw power and aerodynamic efficiency, a high watts-to-CdA ratio, which naturally favours larger, more powerful TT specialists.”
Still, the objective is clear.
“These are still some of the best riders in the world,” says Bigham, “and I expect them to produce world-class performances and remain very competitive amongst the GC contenders, even if fighting for the outright stage win would be a significant challenge.”
After that, the Giro turns again. The final week still waits. But before the race reaches those climbs, it must pass through 42 kilometres against the clock.
