The routes for the 109th Giro d'Italia, scheduled for May 8th to 31st, and the Giro d'Italia Women, which will start on May 30th and finish on June 7th, were presented at the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone in Rome.

Three challenging stages, especially the second, are the prelude to the Corsa Rosa in Bulgaria. Stage one starts and finishes on the Black Sea, from Nessebar to Burgas, which will award the first Maglia Rosa. The route continues from Burgas to Veliko Tarnovo after a challenging 220 kilometers, including a 3.5 km climb at 7.5% gradient at the end. The final stage in Bulgaria will conclude in the capital Sofia, where the sprinters are expected again, starting from Plovdiv.

FIRST WEEK

After the first rest day, Monday, May 11, the return to Italy is followed by stages that potentially feature sprint finishes, though not necessarily featuring the entire peloton, alternating with mountain stages. The route heads up the peninsula with the first uphill finish at Blockhaus from its most feared side (Roccamorice). The week concludes with the "Muri" stage in Fermo and the Apennine uphill finish at Corno alle Scale, where the route returns 22 years after Gilberto Simoni's victory in 2004.

SECOND WEEK

The second rest day is Monday, May 18. The race restarts with a 40.2 km individual time trial through Tuscany from Viareggio to Massa, this year's Bartali Stage. Three stages follow, alternating challenging finales with bunch sprints, in preparation for the weekend. The race will finish in Pila in the Aosta Valley (over 30 years after its last appearance) with a grueling 133 km stage with over 4,400 m of elevation gain. On Sunday, a sprint finish in Milan is likely, which will host the 90th stage finish in its history.

THIRD WEEK

The third week starts with a bang with the very short but intense all-Swiss stage from Bellinzona to Carì. Two mixed stages serve as an appetizer for the last two very demanding ones. The long Dolomite stage connects Feltre with Piani di Pezzè (another   return   historic after Marco Pantani's victory in the 1992 Giro d'Italia Dilettanti). The Duran, Staulanza (with the Coi variant), Giau (Cima Coppi), and Falzarego passes are climbed, retracing historic Giro routes. The following day, the Corsa Rosa commemorates the disastrous Friuli earthquake (May 6, 1976) by retracing its crater before climbing Piancavallo twice, which would determine the final classification.

Grand Arrival in Rome with the catwalk circuit in the Eternal City.

NUMBERS AND STATISTICS

• 3,459   the km of this edition.

• 50,000 meters of altitude difference

• 16   the Giro d'Italia departures from abroad

• 8   the Grand Arrivals in Rome

• 40.2   the time trial kilometers that will be faced
  
  

• 90   the Giro stage arrivals in Milan
  
  

• 4   The Giau Pass is Cima Coppi for the fourth time after 1973 (Jose Manuel Fuente); 2011 (Stefano Garzelli); 2021 (Egan Bernal).

The stages:

1st May 8, 156 km Nesebar – Burgas

2nd May 9, 220 Burgas – Veliko Tarnovo

3rd May 10, 174 Plovdiv – Sofia

May 11th Rest

4th May 12, 144 Catanzaro – Cosenza

5th May 13, 204 Praia a Mare – Potenza

6th May 14, 161 Paestum – Naples

7th May 15, 246 Formia – Blockhaus

8th May 16, 159 Chieti – Fermo

9th May 17, 184 Cervia – Corno alle Scale

May 18 Rest

10th May 19 40.2 Viareggio – Massa

11th May 20, 178 Porcari – Chiavari

12th May 21, 177 Imperia – Novi Ligure

13th May 22, 186 Alessandria – Verbania

14th May 23, 133 Aosta – Pila

15th May 24, 136 Voghera – Milan

May 25 Rest

16th May 26, 113 Bellinzona – Carì

17th May 27, 200 Cassano d'Adda – Andalo

18th May 28, 167 Fai della Paganella – Pieve di Soligo

19th May 29, 151 Feltre – Alleghe (Piani di Pezzè)

20th May 30, 1999 Gemona del Friuli – Piancavallo

21st May 31, 131 Rome – Rome

Sprint Cycling Photos