Favorites stage 4 Giro d'Italia 2025 | Finally in Italy, the real sprinters must be thinking — but what a finale…

The peloton will start Tuesday in Alberobello, a beautiful town known for its many white houses with conical roofs — symbols of the Puglia region. The finish comes after 187 kilometers in the equally stunning city of Lecce. A local circuit has been drawn up there, meaning the riders will cross the finish line once before we start sprinting for real 12 kilometers later.

There’s not as much climbing as in Albania, but right from the start there’s a 900-meter 'wall' at 6.1%, categorized as a fourth-category climb. The first 39 kilometers descend overall, meaning high speeds are expected early. Once at the bottom, the breakaway is likely to form, leading into an intermediate sprint in Ostini after a climb of 3.9 kilometers at 3.7%.

The sprinters' teams will have it relatively easy from there, with more than 100 kilometers of fairly flat roads toward the finish, including the local lap. The danger in that circuit lies in its technical nature, with several sharp 90-degree corners in the final 5 kilometers, kicked off by a U-turn. And in the final kilometer? Another hard left-hand turn — because why not?

Times
Start: 1:05 PM local time (7:05 AM EDT)
Finish: around 5:12 PM local time (11:12 AM EDT)

After three sunny days in Albania, Tuesday is expected to bring good weather in start town Alberobello as well. The temperature will be a bit cooler at 18°C, with a small chance of a brief thunderstorm. In Lecce, conditions are expected to remain dry, with an easterly wind at force 1, meaning it's virtually windless. Along the route, conditions look perfect for a good day of racing.

We’ve overlooked them for three days, but on day four we can finally list the real sprinters in the peloton. A critical cycling fan might say the true global superstars are missing, but Visma | Lease a Bike likely sees things differently with Olav Kooij. The Dutchman already won a stage in last year’s Giro and has Wout van Aert as a luxury lead-out. On paper, he’s the top favorite for flat finishes.

His challengers come from the group of sprinters who already tried to survive the climbs in Albania. First up: Mads Pedersen, representing Lidl-Trek, who seems to be climbing — and sprinting! — better than ever. Kaden Groves of Alpecin-Deceuninck came up just short on opening weekend, but will be eager to show his sprinting legs in Lecce. The same goes for Paul Magnier, from whom Soudal-Quick Step expects a lot!

Read more below the photo.

In Belgium, now that Van Aert is acting as lead-out, fans will be hoping for two underdogs to win a stage. At Cofidis, Milan Fretin has had an impressive spring, while Gerben Thijssen of Intermarché-Wanty seems to be hitting form just in time. The Netherlands has two more contenders alongside Kooij: at Picnic-PostNL, young Casper van Uden is their lead sprinter, and at Tudor — due to Arvid de Kleijn's absence — Maikel Zijlaard will get a nice opportunity.

However, these guys are not necessarily the fastest racers after Kooij. Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale and XDS Astana may have even stronger options in Sam Bennett and Max Kanter. Q36.5 will also go all-in with Matteo Moschetti, as the Italian is already in good form this year. Other fast men? Giovanni Lonardo (Polti), Corbin Strong (Israel), Enric Zanoncello or Filippo Fiorelli (Bardiani), and Orluis Aular (Movistar) will all be eager to throw themselves into the sprint.

Top favorites:Olav Kooij (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)
Outsiders:Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Paul Magnier (Soudal-Quick Step), Milan Fretin (Cofidis), Matteo Moschetti (Q36.5) and Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale)
Long shots: Gerben Thijssen (Intermarché-Wanty), Casper van Uden (Picnic-PostNL), Maikel Zijlaard (Tudor), Max Kanter (XDS Astana), Giovanni Lonardo (Polti), Corbin Strong (Israel), Enric Zanoncello (Bardiani) and Orluis Aular (Movistar)

Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email: [email protected])