Davide Bramati and Mattia Cattaneo shared their thoughts on the route of the Corsa Rosa.
For the first time in a decade, the Giro d’Italia will kick off from Torino, the first Italian capital between 1861 and 1865, with the pink jersey set to land on the shoulders of the fastest rider in the 9km individual time trial. The opening week will schedule three other stages that should create some gaps, the summit finishes to Sestola, Ascoli Piceno and Campo Felice, but also three flat stages where the sprinters will fight for victory and the iconic maglia ciclamino.
The famous strade bianche, where 11 years ago the story of one of the most memorable stages in the race’s history was written, make a highly-anticipated return at the 104th Giro d’Italia, although this time around the hardest sector will come a long way from the finish. A visit to the daunting Monte Zoncolan (13.5km, 9%) on the third Sunday of competition promises a major GC shake-up, which is expected to continue on stage 16, where the riders will tackle the punishing Passo Fedaia, Passo Pordoi (Cima Coppi this year), and Passo Giau.
Sega di Ala, Alpe di Mera and a brutal penultimate stage to Alpe Motta will contribute to the race’s more than 47 000 meters of climbing on the final week of Il Giro which in May will celebrate 90 years since the introduction of the pink jersey, before a 29.4 individual time trial will bring down the curtain over the race.
“It won’t be an easy edition, with the two stages against the clock, Zoncolan and all those climbs stacked on the queen stage of the race, to Cortina d’Ampezzo. There are also some new ascents and the white gravel roads to Montalcino too, where everything is possible, even to lose a lot of minutes. One thing’s for sure: it’s a route that will make for some aggressive racing and we can’t wait to be there”, explained Deceuninck – Quick-Step sports director Davide Bramati.
His thoughts were echoed by Mattia Cattaneo: “It will be a very hard Giro d’Italia, but this is always the case with this race. Sestola – after just a couple of days – Montalcino, Zoncolan, Pordoi and an incredibly hard final mountain stage will all play a huge role in the final outcome. They are all the kind of stages that you’ll feel in your legs.”
Photo credit: ©Wout Beel
