Sprint or breakaway? Many sports directors wonder how to approach what on paper seems to be one of the most unpredictable stage in this year's Giro. At 254km the route is the longest in the entire Giro and takes the riders along the Po valley as they approach the Alps and the big mountain stages in the weekend. A number of hills in the final part will spice things up and could break the legs of the sprinters. Are the sprinters' teams willing to risk a long day's chase, only to see their sprinter getting dropped on one of the final climbs? Starting at 14.15 you can find the answer by following our live coverage on CyclingQuotes.com/live.

The sprinters could get their second consecutive day in the spotlight on this 254km mammoth stage but unlike the previous day's flat final part, the last kilometers of the stage are considerably more complicated. The first 207,1km are almost completely flat as the riders travel west in the Po valley. They make, however, a small digression from the flat road to Cherasco when they head south to touch the hills along the Italian Riviera. The category 3 Tre Cuni climb (10,1km, 4,8%) could be a possibility to put the sprinters under pressure but from the op 36,8km still remain. Instead, two smaller uncategorized ascents inside the final 16km could provide the perfect springboard for attacks and from the top of the last one 6,1km are left. They are not overly difficult, neither steep nor long, but at the end of the 254km they could very well be just that little bit extra that breaks the sprinters' legs.

Had Matt Goss not turned ill in recent days, it was almost certain that this stage would have ended in a sprint. Orica-GreenEdge's only objective in this race is to bring home a stage win and their opportunities come in the sprints. However, the team is aware that the Australian does not have the speed to challenge Mark Cavendish in a pure sprint and so they have pinpointed a number of lumpy stages as their main targets in the race. Goss' is much stronger uphill than the Manxman and if they can drop the fastest man on earth prior to the finish, there is a good chance that Goss will emerge as the winner.

The team had originally singled the fifth stage to Matera out as their most important day in the entire Giro and everything appeared to be turning out as they had wished until Luka Mezgec' crashed in the penultimate bend and took out Goss from contention. Since then they have bided their time and waited for another perfect opportunity and there is little doubt that today's stage was one of those marked out.

However, Goss is now sick and on antibiotics and yesterday he chose not to contest the sprint, instead giving the chance to Brett Lancaster who took a fine fifth place. With Goss still on the ropes, it is very unlikely that the team is willing to put in the effort required to keep it all together on a very long day in the saddle and this certainly plays into the hands of the breakaway. With the likes of Svein Tuft and Luke Durbridge in their ranks, the team is one of the few with the firepower to control such a long stage.

Three factors are clear advantages to a breakaway's chances of success. First of all, the length of the stage makes it a very tough task for the sprinters' teams to control and stage and if one keeps in mind their struggles in yesterday's stage, it will not get any easier to bring back a strong break today. Furthermore, there is a 90% chance of rain today and wet conditions just make it that more difficult for the peloton to catch back the escapees. Finally, we are almost two weeks into a grand tour and the accumulated fatigue just makes it much harder to control an escape than it is in the first week.

Furthermore, many teams may be a little cautious as to whether their sprinters will be able to survive the final climbs. The Tre Cuni ascent is very long and despite its top being located almost 40km from the finish, it would be a huge shame to have chased for more than 200km just to see the preferred sprinter getting dropped.

Nonetheless, there are plenty of ambitious sprinters in this race and they have until now been unable to beat Cavendish. If they are to take a stage win, they have to try on a day like today. It is very likely that most of the sprinters' teams will use a dual strategy: try to join the early break and if it fails, they will try to bring it back.

Hence, the composition of the early breakaway is very likely to determine its destiny. Elia Viviani is climbing really strongly these days and if he survives the final climbs, he could very well be the fastest on the line. If Cannondale is not in the break, they could very well be the team to start the chase and they are eager to show themselves in their big home race after they lost Ivan Basso prior to the race.

The Bardiani team is another one with huge ambitions today. The stage finishes near the headquarters of theirs sponsors and they have done little to hide that they will do everything they can to be in the mix at the day's end. If they fail to join the day's break, they will probably start chasing and with Sacha Modolo and Enrico Battaglin they have two very good options in a hard final like today's. However, the team lacks some firepower on the flats and will probably not be able to catch the break if they do not receive any help from their rival teams.

With Nacer Bouhanni travelling back to France to rest a little bit ahead of the Tour de France, the FDJ team will do nothing to catch the break. Instead, the Movistar team could come into play. Francisco Ventoso has win a stage in the last two editions of the race and he is eager to make it three in a row. Among the sprinters he is one of the very best climbers and he will have no trouble surviving the final hills. If Movistar is not in the break, they could lend a hand to the chase and if the break is caught, expect the Spanish team to use their considerable climbing power to put pressure on Cavendish as soon as the road points upwards.

The final team that could be part of the chase is Argos-Shimano. After Degenkolb's withdrawal, Luka Mezgec has taken over the reins as the team's preferred sprinter and he surprised his sports directors by taking a formidable 3rd in his first ever grand tour sprint yesterday. Among the sprinters he is one of the best climbers and should have no trouble staying in the peloton all the way to the finish. He could be the man to take a rare grand tour victory for a neoprofessional in today's stage.

No one can exclude that Cavendish will actually be able to survive the final climbs. When he won in Aubenas in the 2009 Tour de France, he survived a climb much similar to Tre Cuni and it was much closer to the finish. The Manxman may not be in the same kind of shape right now but he seems to get stronger as the race goes on. Steepness appears to be much more challenging for the Brit than length, and the final ascents are really not that hard. Furthermore, Omega Pharma-Quick Step has shown that they are willing to work even if they are uncertain as to whether Cavendish will actually be there in the sprint but after yesterday's huge effort by all team riders, they could take a cautious approach.

If it comes down to a sprint, Cavendish and Viviani are of course the big favourites if they are still in contention while the likes of Modolo and Ventoso lack the top speed to win if any of the pure sprinters are present. Mezgec could be a surprise bet and the same goes for Giacomo Nizzolo and Roberto Ferrari. Both could get over the climbs in good condition and if that is the case they both have a change to take a stage win for their teams.

It is almost impossible to predict the composition of the breakaway in a stage like today's. As most teams know that this is a good chance for a successful early move, we will see a huge battle in the early part of the race and it will without any doubt take some time before the break gets clear. Since the roads are flat, luck plays a crucial role in determining the day's escapees and it would be almost hazardous to even try to predict the lucky ones.

However, Ramunas Navadauskas, Fabio Felline, Diego Rosa, Enrico Battaglin, Stef Clement, Daniel Oss, Paolo Longo Borghini, Leonardo Duque, Egoi Martinez, Jorge Azanza, Anthony Roux, Pavel Brutt, Daniele Pietropolli, Adam Hansen, Lars Bak, Eros Capecchi, Alex Dowsett, Jose Herrada, Pablo Lastras, Giovanni Visconti, Michal Golas, Serge Pauwels, Jens Keukeleire, Pieter Weening, Nelson Oliveira, Dario Cataldo, Thomas Damuseau, Patrick Gretsch, Koen De Kort, Mads Christensen, Manuele Boaro, Evgeny Petrov, Marco Marcato, Stefano Garzelli, Danilo Di Luca and Matteo Rabottini are some of the names that spring to mind.

CyclingQuotes' stage winner picks: Elia Viviani, Luka Mezgec, Giacomo Nizzolo

Outsiders: Mark Cavendish, Sacha Modolo, Roberto Ferrari