According to Trek-Segafredo's Vincenzo Nibali, the route of stage 20 (Alba to Sestriere), the final mountain stage of the Giro d'Italia, has been changed and the race will not cross into France due to COVID-19 restrictions, so Thursday's stage 18 is the only The "Queen Stage."

Both the Colle Dell'Aniello and the Col d'Izoardo (the latter is French territory) were cut from Saturday's route, and the 181-km stage was rerouted to climb the Sestriere three times, finishing at the summit on the third climb. The road to Sestriere is wide, easy to climb, and low in elevation.

"The change of route for stage 20 radically changes the specific gravity of the stage," Vincenzo Nibali said after hearing of the change.

"The Colle dell'Aniello, which I have only climbed once in the past, was a really tough climb that took my breath away.

"Climbing Sestriere three times instead would require a completely different approach.

"Of course, it's a hard and important climb, but it depends a lot on the pace, especially with the GC riders repeating the circuit," he said.

Nibali is currently in seventh place overall, 3:31 behind Portugal's Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick Step), who led the race on Mount Etna in stage 3. Wilco Kjeldermen (Team Sunweb) is also considered a contender for the win. He is 17 seconds behind Almeida.

If Almeida, 22, can finish Thursday's stage from Pinzolo to Laghi di Cancano via Passo dello Strevio in the pink leader's jersey, he will have a much better chance of becoming the first Portuguese winner of the Giro on Sunday in Milan. The odds of becoming the first Portuguese winner of the Giro on Sunday in Milan are much higher.

Thursday's stage climb begins with an early second category, Campo Carlo Magno, followed by the first category, Passo Castolin/Homando Gioch. [It is approximately 25 km long, with an average gradient of 7.5% and 48 hairpins. The average gradient is 7.5% and there are 48 hairpins.

After the descent, the riders will reach the summit finish at Laghi di Cancano.

The experienced Nibali knows that stages can be tough or easy depending on how hard they are ridden, but he still believes that Thursday's stage will be his last chance to oust Almeida.

"There was a lot of promise in today's (Wednesday's) stage and the start was full gas. 'There were a lot of attacks early on, then we climbed at a normal pace. I thought the race was going to explode at any moment, but it didn't. On the last climb the pace was too high and there were few chances to attack."

"Obviously, given the changes made on Saturday and today's result [Almeida defending his lead], tomorrow's stage will be the 'queen stage' and will be of considerable importance," Nibali said.

"The stage profile is clear, but it all depends on the pace. Expectations are high, but given the way this Giro has gone so far, it's a gamble to predict."