When Tirreno Adriatico reaches the Marche region, riders’ legs begin to feel the strain. The “walls” stage has become a staple of both Tirreno Adriatico and the Giro d’Italia, and in 2026 the Race of the Two Seas will feature not one but two of them, both clearly decisive for the general classification. The first comes on Stage 5, from Marotta–Mondolfo to Mombaroccio, over 186 km.
Marotta is a coastal town in the northern Adriatic, administratively divided between Marche and Umbria until Italian unification and now part of the municipality of Mondolfo. Its development is largely tied to the 20th century, when the former fishing village took on a strong residential and tourist vocation, thanks to its sandy shoreline and flat urban layout. Just inland, Mondolfo preserves a medieval historic centre perched on a hill, defined by walls, gates, and defensive structures that underline its former strategic role in controlling the territory. Marotta hosted a Giro d’Italia stage in 1995, won by Mario Cipollini, with the following stage starting from Mondolfo.
The stage offers not a single metre of flat road, with a total of 3,900 metres of elevation gain and very little opportunity to recover. One climb follows another in the Metauro River area, including Villa del Monte (1.7 km at 8.9%) and Monterolo (3.4 km at 8.6%), both uncategorised, before reaching Monte delle Cesane (7.2 km at 7%, with ramps up to 15% in the opening section). The route then passes through Saltara (1.9 km at 4.7%), Cartoceto (2.4 km at 6.5%), and Monte della Mattera (6.5 km at 5%) before arriving in Mombaroccio, where a 21.6 km circuit begins, to be tackled twice..
The loop features constant ups and downs, including Villagrande (570 metres at 11.2%) and Cuccurano (1.6 km at 5%), but the key point is the climb to the Santuario del Beato Sante (4.2 km at 6.2%, with the final 1,200 metres at 9%). The second passage comes just 1.5 km from the finish. Even the final 300 metres rise sharply again, setting up a dramatic finale in a stage that is bound to create major selection.
Mombaroccio, which has never before hosted a top-level cycling event, is a small hilltop town in northern Marche, located between the Metauro and Foglia valleys and overlooking the surrounding agricultural landscape. Its origins date back to the Middle Ages, when it developed as a fortified settlement within the defensive system of the Marche hinterland. The town still retains a compact urban layout, with surviving sections of walls and gates bearing witness to its strategic role over the centuries. Over time, Mombaroccio has preserved a strong rural identity, closely tied to agriculture and the land.
