The fight for the Maglia Azzurra, the blue jersey, should keep us interested deep into the final week. Here’s a breakdown of the point structure:

Cima Coppi – Passo Pordoi Stage 20 – 50, 30, 20, 14, 10, 6, 4, 2, 1 points

Cat 1 – Stages 4, 7, 9×2, 15×2, 16×3, 17×2, 19, 20×2 – 40, 18, 12, 9, 6, 4, 2, 1 points

Cat 2 – Stages 5, 7, 9×2, 14×4, 15, 19 – 18, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1 points

Cat 3 – Stages 7, 9, 12×3, 13, 14, 17, 19×2 – 9, 4, 2, 1 points

Cat 4 – Stages 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 10×2, 18×2, 21 – 3, 2, 1 points

Please note, the Giro doesn’t have double points for mountaintop finishes.

As there are 424 points available in the final week, nothing will be decided in the first two weeks. We do have two mountain top finishes in the first nine stages, one of those is likely to go the GC group, one could be hoovered up by the breakaway. If someone is really targeting the blue jersey, they need to lose time in the opening stages and then target stages 7 and 9. 

Stage 7 has 67 points on offer, and you don’t need to win the stage to get any of them. Stage 9 is the Blockhaus stage, it has 125 points on offer, but 40 of them are at the finish and it’s more than likely to be a GC day. Even if it does go the GC group, that still leaves 85 points on offer for the breakaway. If someone can make the break in both stages 7 and 9, and take most of the points, they’ll be in a strong position to win the jersey. However, a lot will still depend on the final week. 

By that point, there will be a few GC riders who have dropped well out the fight for the pink jersey, freeing them up to hunt stage wins. In the process of doing this, there will be an enormous number of points still on offer, and the blue jersey could well become a target for them.

The other option is for the GC leader to win the jersey, especially if they are dominant and win three stages. This doesn’t usually happen in the Giro, but it can’t be discounted.

Prediction Time

With so many points on offer in the final week, I think the jersey will be won by a GC rider who has fallen out of the battle for pink. At this stage, it’s impossible to tell who that might be.