First Week
8.6Km of a slightly tricky time-trial. Might aswell call it prologue, there will be some tiny differences between the GC favourites that will make a difference on who gets pink first in the mountains, but it's all about that first stage winner.
Sprint stage number 1, almost as flat as it could be!
The classic Giro opening week stage. It should end in a sprint, with few sprinters, but will it? It's quite suited for late attacks and for the puncheurs to have their chance, at a stage and pink.
GC challenge number 1. Yes we have had Etna last few years but this year the mountain is quite literally on fire. Not the classic side, but this finish in Sestola is set to make gaps unlike the Sicilian giant (yes, I said it).
Giro's response to the UAE Tour.
The Apennines will feature quite a lot of mountainous stages this year. With no Hungary and Sicily on the list the center of the country will have a big amount of stages and as you know it's not easy to find flat ground around. This first stage is hard, there are 3600 meters of climbing and the summit finish in Ascoli Piceno is set to make it a climber showdown. This climb is a smaller Jebel Jais, don't expect big gaps, most climbers will be looking to keep it safe, there may be attacks if punctures/crashes affect the previous days.
Stage 7 is another one for the sprinters, despite a tricky finish in Termoli.
Stage 8 finishes in Guardia Sanframondi and it's an almost perfect breakaway day as it antecedes a rough GC stage (not that rough, but you know how it works), it has some decent climbing but nowhere to attack the race. GC guys will look to keep it safe once again.
And honestly the same should happen here, but this is a very tricky day. It's the opening week's climax, Rocca di Cambio takes in it's finish in a new gravel road (that won't make much of a difference) but with the not-so-big gaps created in the opening week and the absolute roller-coaster profile with no brutal climbs this is can very well see the GC turnt on it's head. The big guys surely won't have the freedom, but the Top10-25 riders will have a chance to climb up and surprise.
The stage before the first rest day, it won't be an easy sprinter stage but we should see that by the end.
Second Week
The second week opens up with one of the positive surprises of this route. A stage full of traps in the second week, they had one last year but it didn't do much, but this one may very well. Tension will be high, crashes and mechanicals will happen, there are 35.2Km of Tuscan gravel roads and they are all focused on that final half. This is why the Giro is the best, this is why.
(And if it rains you MUST grab a couple beers)
Only here do the Apennines see their finish in what is their queen stage. Now, those climbs aren't THAT hard, but there are over 4400 meters of climbing, a (likely furious) rolling start, and that final climb does feature some nasty ramps at points. I would love to see attacks here, it may very well happen, we're 12 stages deep into the race at this point and I doubt everyone will keep still and making sure they stay safe, specially after such a tricky day.
A pancake.
ZONCOLAN! But hold up, not THE Zoncolan you're familiar with but instead it's taller, skinny friend with an abnormally big head. The stage is all about that climb, the riders won't go through the little town of Ovaro but will instead tackle the beast through Sutrio and although at first sight I deemed the climb as a tiny bit easier, I was dead wrong. 14.1Km at 8.5% and it finishes off with 13% for 3Km but hold on it gets worst, because in the final kilometer there are 500 meters averaging 20% with ramps up to a whole 27%! Gruesome.
A little rest for those who burnt off their legs the day prior. Should be a day for a breakaway as the race swiftly moves onto Slovenia for a hilly circuit. Now, the stage won't actually end in Slovenia, but if youhave a clear day you can see the finish from it.
The mythical Dolomites, how I love them. The Giro organizers once again proved how much they deserve our love, by placing this beauty right before a rest day, here no-one saves a single watt, the climbers will go to the absolute limit. 5700 meters of climbing starting off with a rough ascent of La Crosetta, but only after will it slowly start tilting up where we'll be treated with a spectacle up an iconic trio of climbs that will go above 2000 meters of altitude, the Passo Fedaia, the Passo Pordoi and to wrap it off the vicious (and beautiful) Passo Giau, followed by a quick descent into Cortina d'Ampezzo.
Third Week
The final week starts off slowly. For around a couple hours that is, after that back into the roller coaster boys! 2 climbs, both are nasty, the Passo San Valentino will separate the men from the boys and the Sega di Ala will separate the aliens from the humans. Another climb I initially dismissed as modest, it's not modest it's absolutely vicious as it features 11.5Km at almost 10%, whilst featuring a couple of flat sections in the middle.
This can't even be considered a rest day, or a day for the sprinters, but on paper it is their final chance to get a stage. This has it all to be a wild finish, the GC men have to keep it under control but the puncheurs, the men in form and those looking for a lucky shot will attack on that final sequence of 4 climbs, whilst some of the sprinter teams may try to keep it together if their fast men can climb well.
The penultimate mountain stage features a trio of ascents. The beginning is pan-flat so it should be a stage for the GC men, I would say they won't empty the tank as they aproach the climax but the truth is the final climb is no joke, the Alpe di Mera is another brute set to take in a suffocating summit finish, all in all the stage is manageable but in the finale we'll see the gaps pop out once again.
The final one. A big flat start as the riders head to Switzerland from Verbania but the second half of the day is another very difficult task. The mythical, and very high Passo San Bernardino just looks like one of those climbs that will see a GC rider loose it all after 3 weeks on the run, the Splugenpass is another incredibly high altitude pass that sees the riders back into Italy and is the spot for a raid to come as the riders will then have to descent back into the valley before tackling the final climb of the race in Alpe Motta, the most gentle climb of the stage but after such a brutal race any climb can make big differences.
If we still have a winner uncertain up to this point it means we had a great race. The differences in a time-trial aren't as big after 3 weeks of built-up fatigue, but as the riders return down into the Po valley they will face their second and final time-trial of the race, and in these 30 kilometers there are still some big differences to be made.
Stage Importance
⭐ 2, 5, 7, 13
My honest opinion - as you may have understood already - is that this Giro is really well designed. It's sure that Italy has perhaps more rooms over France when it comes to designing innovative mountain stages and present new climbs, but the work done here is much superior than what we're used to seeing in the Tour.
Because it's not just about making stages that can be exciting but also aligning them in a way that there is spectacle. The opening week is very open, as usual, but there are several stages that may see some outsiders raid the GC in the Apennines, but this year the finish in Sestola promises gaps, and in Rocca di Cambio a whole lot can happen, of course having these after some initial gaps are created in the time-trial.
But from week 2 on I love it, with the gravel stage being really intense on rough roads right after a rest day, a rough day within unknown climbs in the Apennines afterwards, the Zoncolan finish coming early enough where the riders still have the explosivity, the Giro colossal mountain stage which is this year in the Dolomites, and still having a backloaded race with 2 unknown summit finishes to me in Sega di Ala and Alpe di Mera that are quite brutal and won't allow anyone to save their legs before the final big day in the Alps. There are brutal mountain stages in the third week and there is altitude, but not excessive so there isn't much risk of having the stages shortened as it usually does.
My only downside is that the final time-trial would be better positioned in the second week, and sadly the borders may cause an issue if there is a Covid surge in one of the countries involved (which thankfully doesn't look likely). I'll give it a rating of 9.5/10 because there really isn't that much I would improve, I'm very satisfied with what's on the menu.
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