It’s here! The route presentation for the Giro d’Italia! Always an exciting race with a number of surprises (*cough cough* 2023), of course the Giro will lead off the Grand Tour excitement for 2024. There’s something for everyone in this parcours, but how to claim it for yourself and not your rivals will be left to the racing come April. For those of us without a chance to ride the great Italian race, there’s lots to enjoy here, too.
Quick Designer Insights
Before the week by week details of the race, we bring some insight from Giro designer Ulrich! This year’s Giro will find some inspiration from the UCI 2021 Giro route throughout the main section of the race, with some exciting changes! The additional of a TTT, a big city start (and Man Game throwback), and a few hidden nuggets throughout will spice up an already tried and true layout. (Of course, my insights into his insights don't quite give it justice, but let's look at the wonderful parcour!)
WEEK 1
Our race starts with a very punchy stage from Venice to Monte Grande which spark some memories in our seasoned veterans. These hills were crucial in a transition stage a few years ago, but the finish moves up this year to the top of the final climb! Monte Grande won’t be the steepest climb of the day, but the Maglia Rosa could go to the breakaway or the GC group here. The descents on the final 3 climbs should make late attacks hold their gaps over the main peloton. Still, the best puncheurs will be the main riders fighting for the first Pink Jersey.
Heading into the rest of the week, we have two additional punchy finishes on stage 2 and Stage 6. Stage 2 is a monster of a stage over 220km with some very short, sharp climbs to close the day. Some flat sprinters will likely also find their way to the finish here, but again, some punch is crucial for success on the first two days. Stage 6 will be the other main punch for the stage with a mountaintop sprint at Lama Mocogno. Some pure puncheurs may not even make the stage finish after a few tough climbs in the final 50km. Still, our hill riders should have the advantage here before some major climbs in later weeks.
With 3 punchy stage, we also have 3 sprint stages in our first week. Stages 4, 5, and 7 should all end in group sprints. Stages 4 and 7 should really be simple sprints more than the simplest hills on the race course. Stage 5 should be a much, much more exciting sprint after some major climbs in the final 3rd of the day. Still, the best of the sprinters should make it to the finish. It’s slightly uphill to the line which should bring an interesting lead-out and challenging sprint.
The most important stage of the first week though must be our stage 3 TTT. It’s another pancake flat stage, but obviously this won’t be one for the sprinters. A strong team will be crucial for our top GC threats in order not to lose time early. Still, maybe the best teams won’t want to pick up the jersey to carry along this manageable first 7 days. Maybe a TTT superteam will come in to find stage success and try to hold the leader’s jersey for as long as possible. This stage won’t decide the GC, but the best will be working to ensure they don’t lose too much time.
WEEK 2
Week 2 kicks off right where week 1 left off with more opportunities for the sprinters! Stages 8 and 9 will both be fantastic opportunities for a group sprint, although a breakaway could also be in store. Thankfully, both stages top off around 180km meaning that fatigue should not play too big a factor towards the stage finish. The field of sprinters will be praying to have found their success by the end of stage 9 though because there’s no additional opportunities in Week 2.
Stage 10 kicks off the high mountains of this Giro d’Italia and we have mountains in every remaining stage in this mid-week that could determine the GC battle. Stage 10’s finish to Guardia Sanframondi has some steep sections in the final three-kilometer kicker to the line (a rider or two come to mind for these finishes, but alas that’s for our PT managers to evaluate). Some high mountains in the middle mean that we should see the beginnings of some GC reshuffling after what is likely to be a few days of stability as our riders cross flat stages 7-9.
Stage 11 up to Campo Felice is likely our first opportunity for some fireworks. 159km of almost straight up and down all day long. 6 major climbs throughout the day should give us our first major mountain breakaway of the tour. GC leaders will likely be isolate at the top of the penultimate climb which begs the question if a breakaway could find the finish. No matter the outcome, this is the first blockbuster stage of the Giro with huge implications for KOM, GC, and potentially Green as well. Our worst climbers should also be worried about a time cut here.
Stage 12 is a fascinating transition stage up to Montefiascone. More medium mountain climbs with another summit finish should suggest a GC battle on the final climb. Shouldn’t be anything major to create gaps ahead of that final test, so maybe the leaders leave his one to a breakaway as well. Stage 13 features the beautiful town of Montalcino and another lovely hilltop finish. The stage reaches its highest point at the finish line, so just like stage 12, GC action is possible, but the gaps should be small.
Stage 14 brings us into the high mountains once again and previews the types of battles likely to come in week 3. After some of the biggest climbs of the race thus far, a descent and plateau finish into Bagno di Romagna. Major gaps could be created here if the right rider finds the breakaway or if the penultimate climb brings riders to their limit.
Maybe the most balanced of the three weeks, there should be chances for everyone but the time trialists here in week 2 with GC action filling the later half of the week.
WEEK 3
It all comes down to this! And what a week for it to come down to! With 3 sprint stages intermixed, the GC battle will be fought on the high mountains and a monster final ITT. Our focus here is on the high mountains, but with a sprint stage all the way on stage 20, our sprinters will have every reason to get over the climbs and ensure the green jersey battles goes all the way to Milan. Stage 17 is the only “sprint” stage that should get majorly interesting with some bumpy terrain heading into Gorizia.
Our first GC stage of the final week is Stage 16 up to Monte Zoncolan. This iconic climb will test our riders as the only major climb of the day, but boy is it a monster. Once you reach the mountain, there is absolutely nowhere to hide and while domestiques can certainly help, this will be a true test for the leaders. It is tough to overstate how impactful this stage could be.
Our final two battles on the mountains come on stages 18 and 19. Stage 18 is a 211km beast starting near sea level and rising up near 2000m before descending into Cortina d’Ampezzo (always great to get a sneak peak before an Olympics coming soon). The climbs themselves aren’t too challenging compared to the Zoncolan and the beasts to come on stage 19, but the full day of climbing will wear out even the most rested riders. Expect a masterful descent victory, likely solo or in a small group to decide the stage!
Stage 19 is the queen stage of the race! It’s a final mountaintop finish on top of Sega di Ala. Around 11km of straight climbing, preceded by 15km of equally challenging roads mean that the best of the best must appear. Some 15+% sections on the Sega di Ala will provide opportunities for plentiful attacks for anyone still remaining in GC contention at this point. There’s always chances to expect the unexpected on the final mountain stage, but alas the best climber should appear on top to gain their final advantage before stage 21.
There’s just one ITT in this Giro d’Italia, but boy does it represent the discipline well. 53.7km into Milan means that the GC battle will come down to the final seconds of the final rider. Gaps from 1st to worst could be upwards of 10:00 on a TT like this, especially on the final day of a tiring grand tour. Some specialists may be here to claim the stage victory after holding on for 20 days just for this opportunity. Others will simply be surviving. Finally, the GC hopefuls will be riding for their lives. Knowing that this doozy of stage is remaining should force even more attacks on the earlier stages.
This seems to be a nice Giro for puncheurs with decent climbing skills such as Higuita (hopefully), but if those types also have a nice TTT like Schmid they could do even better. Of course if things don't go as hoped or planned sending those guys to a 21 RD race might not be ideal. Can also see some guys/teams like Geoghaeghn Hart with Cedevita do quite well here, and Bernal with/for Polar and Wirtgen if Vesuvio doesn't disband as perhaps biggest favourites if they come here.
Thank you for the great write-up, sean, and to Ulrich for the amazing work!!
Well, with those first two weeks I thought it'd be the perfect GT for Herklotz - hills all over the place, and Puma often have a strong TTT lineup in GTs. But a 53km ITT at the end? Not so sure anymore... Would also be a great parcours for a Démare wildcard - or another Yates show in the first two weeks?
Not so sure about my lineup, let's wait to see what happens during transfers first Otherwise, I think Nemo has already named quite some riders who like this really punchy profile!
Echoing Nemo, thanks for the great route and writeup to Ulrich and sean!
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I could see Herklotz coming here. He could wear pink from start to end
I'm not sure if it's that great of a race for us, but we'll see what our team looks like after transfers.
Otherwise, I think Nemo has already named quite some riders who like this really punchy profile!
