The second grand tour to be revealed has a few features in the common with the first. The Giro also has the climbing principally packed in to the 3rd week as well as plenty of opportunities for the sprinters in the first two weeks. But it differs in having more for the puncheurs, with stages that suit the punchy sprinters and the hill specialists. The latter will also be a worry for the one-speed climbers. In addition to requiring a broader range of climbing skills, the Giro also downplays the TT skills. The only flat TT is a team time trial.
Rein Taaramäe is the defending champion, but with his team relegated only time will tell whether a transfer or a wild card will let him defend his title. It wouldn’t be surprising if he didn’t, there hasn’t been a repeat winner of the Giro since Damiano Cunego won his 5th straight in 2011. Cunego with 6 total, and Andy Schleck (2) are the only multiple winners. With many of the prior winners on the downside of their careers it wouldn’t be surprising to have another new champion.
Geographically the 2021 Giro writes a rough “Z” on the Italian boot. The race starts in the far southeast with a circuit around Lecce. From there it goes west to the other coast before crossing to the island of Ischia in the Bay of Naples. Then the race will turn north and work its way gradually northeast up the length of the country to the province of Trentino Alto-Adige. From there it heads west again reaching the final summit finish at Chianale on Stage 20. Stage 21 sees a turn back to the east as the sprinters will hope to wrap up the race with a bunch finish in the streets of Milan.
Week 1: Lecce to Terminillo
Week 1 mostly belongs to the sprinters. Stages 1, 2 and 6 should all feature bunch sprints with only Stage 6 offering any significant climbing. While that stage might work for a breakaway, strong sprint teams should have no trouble bringing the race back together. In addition to these 3, the sprinters will also be eyeing stages 3 and 4, while both are rated hilly, the climbing is mostly limited to the finish. Stage 3 includes a 3.1km climb at 5.3% right before the finish which might present an opportunity for the puncheurs but more likely is a chance for a punchy sprinter. If the latter don’t take stage 3 they will definitely be focusing on stage 4 which finishes on the short climb to Terme Luigiane.
The first week also features the lone flat time trial of the race, a 17km team test on Ischia on stage 5. With no other flat time trials managers will have to decide whether to commit their TTT resources for this one stage, or risk the time losses, and center their team around the climbers.
And finally, week 1 features a climbing antipasto, the 15km climb to Terminillo that comes at the end of Stage 7. Going into the stage a punchy rider with a good TTT team should hold the Maglia Rosa, after the stage we should have a clue as to the longer-term owner of that jersey.
Week 2: Roseto degli Abruzzi to Abano Terme
Week 2 is a transitional week, 3 more chances for the sprinters, 3 hilly stages and 1 mountain stage. Having stamped their authority on the race in stage 7 the GC riders will not be able to relax on stage 8. The stage from Roseto degli Abruzzi to Montefortino features 197km of short spikey climbs. The diesel climbers will have to keep their wits and their teammates around them, a rider who is dropped before the final ascents could lose significant time.
Stages 9 and 10 return the focus to the Maglia Ciclamino. Stage 11 is rated hilly but with longer, steadier climbs, and more distance between the last climb and the finish than in stage 8, it should be a simpler stage, maybe a good chance for the breakaway specialists to get a stage win.
The GC riders will be hoping for a quiet stage 11 as stage 12 finishes on the iconic Zoncalon, 10km at an average of 11.9% with a max of over 22%. While the stage isn’t hard prior to the final climb the riders will want to crest the penultimate climb to Sella Valcava near the front of the peloton as they will have only a short descent to make up any ground before the steep and narrow roads of the Zoncalon put them to the test.
Stage 13 features the final chance for the sprinters, in Treviso, before they batten down the hatches and focus on reaching Milan.
Stage 14 to Abano Terme is a another chance for the punchy riders to try for an escape.
Week 3: Conegliano to Milano
Week 3 is for the climbers, with 5 mountain-rated stages. Stages 15, 16 and 20 all feature summit finishes and stage 18 is 22k time trial, with the last 14km ascending the Passo del Tonale.
The week opens with Stage 15, a 227km feast of climbing from Conegliano to Val di Fassa. It probably wins the argument with Stage 20 to be the queen stage of the race. Stage 15 features an HC, two cat 2 and a cat 3 climb before the cat 1 finishing climb. The climbing starts early with the 13km climb to Piancavallo, which averages 8.5%, and should probably be insulted to be rated only cat 2. The HC climb is the famous Passo di Giau, 16 km at 6.4%. Between the Passo di Giau and the finishing climb to Val di Fassa, is the Passo di Fedaia, which is 13km at 8.1% and also probably underrated as a Cat 2.
Stage 16 keeps the pressure on with two long climbs, the 18km Passo San Pellegrino (average 6.2%) and the 17km finishing climb to Rifugio Panarotta (7.6%). Stage 17 features the Passo del Tonale (14km @ 6.5%) which the climbers will want to study to prepare for the time trial on its slopes in stage 18. But with limited additional climbing in the stage, a breakaway might take it.
After the mountain time trial on Stage 18, Stage 19 gives the GC competitors a break, rated hilly, it features only one moderate climb (the Passo di Ganda 9.5km @ 7%) and a long descent to the finish.
Stage 20’s climbing starts with a small Cat 3 climb and then the HC rated Colle d’Esischie, 18km at 8.6%, after the descent, the riders immediately face the Cat 1, Colle de Sampeyre, 17km at 7.8%. Another descent and then they start the of the final climb to Chianale, another 17km of climbing. While it averages only 4.6%, coming after two long climbs and 20 days of racing, it could be the perfect road for the toughest climbers to turn the screws on their less robust rivals.
The GC leader after should then be able to enjoy the sites of Turin and Milan on Stage 21, while the sprinters fight the final battle of the Giro.
Acknowledgements - I am a big fan of having a wide variety of stages so I dipped a little deeper into the PCM community for this race. I pulled stages from 3 great stage makers and want to acknowledge their work. Much of the route is from Stylus' 2003 Giro and one stage each come from Leon40 and Wings. Edited by Ulrich Ulriksen on 19-08-2021 04:29
Awesome design and presentation! I am not sure how the short TTT will pan out in game, as I don't think PCM handles those too well, but I really rate the dedication and design that went into this Giro choice. Thank you very much!
