 After the second rest day , the peloton faced the Giro 's shortest stage . It was originally scheduled to include the highest point in the 2009 Giro , but the route was changed from the published maps due to the amount of snow at the top of the Blockhaus mountain pass , with 4 km ( 2 @.@ 5 mi ) of climbing replaced by an equivalent addition to the flat section at the beginning of the stage . The first 44 km ( 27 mi ) of this course were almost perfectly flat , followed by a slight increase in gradient for the next 16 km ( 9 @.@ 9 mi ) , followed by an exceptionally steep final 23 km ( 14 mi ) . 
