With La Vuelta's route having been presented we can now move on to the Giro d'Italia, the Tour of Italy. The Giro is known for it's long gruelling stages and high altitudes in the mountains. But what is in store for this year?
Well let's start off with the flat stages. There are 6 of them and all of them are actually flat. So 6 chances in total for the sprinters. But unlike the Vuelta it seems unlikely that the sprinters will have a chance at the leaders jersey, because the race starts with a TTT. An early chance for the GC men to gain some seconds. There is a another 55 km ITT on stage 14, before the climax of the race. Week 3 has a total of 5 mountain stages, with only one of them not a mountain top finish. There are only 3 stages of 200 km, but of them is a hilly one over 250 km and another is arguably the queen stage of the race. A 235 km mountain stage!
Week 1: From San Remo to Tuscany
As mentioned the race kicks of with a TTT. It's 15.4 km long and starts in San Lorenzo al Mare, traversing the coastal roads to finish in Sanremo. From there we have the 1st road stage, where the sprinters will duke it out along the streets of Genova. Stage 3 sees the riders move inland on some hillier roads before finishing back on the Ligurian coast. Stage 4 is hilly again, no hilltop finish but there is cat. 3 climb that tops at around 10 km from the finish, before a descent to the line. A chance for the brave puncheurs perhaps.
Stage 5 is the first mountain stage of the Giro. The riders start in the coastal city of La Spezia and ride inland towards the Apennine mountains. They finish atop the Passo dell'Abetone (17,3 km at 5,4%, max. 10%). The trek across Tuscany continues with a flat stage that finishes back on the seaside, before finishing week 1 with the longest stage of the race. Almost 255 km from Grosseto to Fiuggi. An undulating profile that ends with two uncategorised climbs in the finale of the stage.
Week 2: The Adriatic, the race to Imola and a glimpse of Venice
The second week has a difficult start as the riders again venture into the Apennines for another mountain stage. Harder than the first one it finishes on the ski resort of Campitello Matese (13,0 km at 6,9%, max. 12%). Stage 9 is rated as hilly, but it's 208 km long and features some longer climbs. The puncheurs will have to reach the final in good shape, otherwise the GC men could have a battle for bonus seconds. A short transfer to the Adriatic coast for stage 10, as the sprinters get another chance for a stage victory.
Stage 11 could finish in a number of ways. There are breakaway possibilities, chances for late attacks or a bunch sprint as the riders finish on the famous Imola race track. Stage 12 is very similar to stage 11. The last hills are quite a few kms away from the finish, so a sprint finish is very much possible. And if the sprinters won't get involved in stages 11 and 12, then stage 13 is perfect for them. It's a pan flat stage in the Veneto region. Week 2 conludes with a 55.2 km time trial in Treviso.
Week 3: An Alpine journey to Milano
Enough beating around the bush, week 3 is all about suffering through the biggest climbs Italy has to offer. Only the strongest climbers will be able to compete for the maglia rosa, while the sprinters will hope to fend of the time limit.
Stage 15 starts it off. 166 km long stage that finishes in Madonna di Campiglio (15,5 km at 5,9%, max. 12%). In stage 16 the riders leave the Trentino region. They start in Pinzolo and head west across the Alps. This stage features 5 categorised climbs, including the brutal Passo del Mortirolo (11,9 km at 10,9%, max. 18%), it eventually finishes up a cat. 3 climb to Aprica.
Stage 17 is a transition stage, the GC men will try to recover their legs. Some of the remaining sprinters though, will look at this as maybe their last chance, as the stage goes across the Swiss border and finishes in Lugano. Stage 18 might be considered as an easier mountain stage. A calm before the storm, as it's called. The riders travel back to Italy to tackle Monte Ologno (10,4 km at 9,0%, max. 13%), before a descent to Verbania in Piemonte.
Stage 19, if stage 16 was not the queen stage, then it's stage 19. A total of 235 km await the riders and while the first half of the stage is mostly flat, the second half has three cat. 1 climbs one after another. It finishes in the valley Aosta atop Cervinia (19,2 km at 5,0%, max. 12%). Stage 20 is the last mountain stage and features the only HC climb of the race, the Cima Coppi: Colle delle Finestre (18,5 km at 9,2%, max. 14%). The finish is then in a familiar place, with the last climb up to Sestriere (9,2 km at 5,4%, max. 9%).
With the all the climbing complete, the GC leader can almost celebrate. The peloton takes the road one last time, going from Torino to Milano. Any sprinter that has survived the hellish trek across the Alps will be hoping for a famous victory on the streets of Milano.
6 Flat
6 Hill (2 HTF)
7 Mountain (6 MTF)
1 ITT
1 TTT
Edited by redordead on 09-09-2020 11:53
Its a tough 3 weeks in Italy, with a nice mix of mountain and hilly stages. The 55km TT will shake things up plenty and it will be interesting for us to race for the first time! Maybe Meintjes will race this one but it will all depend on team make up and race planning I guess in our first season in the PT.
John St Ledger in Team Bunzl-Centrica and Team U25
