An unprecedented start in Albania, gravel roads, an incursion into Slovenia and a last grueling week in the Alps before arriving in Rome, the Tour of Italy (May 9-June 1) whose route was revealed on Monday, will not give its participants any respite for three weeks.
For the first time in its history, the Giro will start from Albania where the first three stages of this 108th edition will take place, including one of the two time trials on the program, a time of 13.7 km from the second day in the streets of Tirana.
But even more than this fifteenth Grand Départ abroad, which also took time to be finalized with the Albanian authorities and forced the organizers to postpone the presentation of their route by two months (“to resolve contractual problems of several orders, not only with Albania”, justified the organizer RCS Sport), it is the arrival of the 14th stage which attracts attention.
Slovenian Tadej Pogacar with the trophy after his victory in the 2024 Tour of Italy on May 26, 2024 in Rome / Luca Bettini / AFP/Archives
She will be judged in Gorizia, Slovenia, after 40 short kilometers on Slovenian roads, in the hope of once again attracting Cycling superstar Tadej Pogacar.
The winner of the Giro 2024 has not yet formalized his choice, alongside the unmissable Tour de France, between the Tour of Italy and the Vuelta which he has not yet won.
“This step is a classic, it is absolutely not a gesture towards Pogacar, even if it would be great if he was still with us in 2025. We are working on it”assured Paolo Bellino, the boss of RCS Sport.
-10,000 m more elevation gain
If the first two weeks of racing can be tricky with in particular the 9th stage on May 18 between Gubbio and Siena, integrating 30 km of gravel paths of the Strade bianche, and the 11th stage with the ascent of Alpe San Pelligrino (1,623 m), you will have to wait until the last week, or even the day before arrival in Rome, to know the winner.
The 2025 Tour of Italy route revealed on January 13, 2025 in Rome / Handout / RCS Cycling Press Office/AFP
On the menu for this last week, in the north of Italy, four stages which promise to be formidable with their arrivals in the high mountains: in San Valentino (16th stage, May 27), in Bormio (17th stage, May 28) , in Champoluc (19th stage, May 30) after three first category passes, and finally in Sestrières (20th and penultimate stage, May 31) after climbing the « toit » of this Giro, the Colle delle Finestre (2,178 m) for a total of 5,000 m of elevation gain.
“This Giro doesn’t really have any big difficult passes, the ascent to Sestriere for example is not super complicated but it is long and tiring”analyzed Vincenzo Nibali, winner of the event in 2013 and 2016.
“Each stage of this Giro 2025 has these difficulties, which means that the riders will approach the last week having already started their physical reserves”he warned.
After a long transfer, the runners will reach Rome for the last stage where the finish will be judged for the third consecutive year with a departure from the Vatican and a circuit traced around the most beautiful ancient sites of the capital, after a total of 3,413 km for a difference in altitude of 52,500 m, or 10,000 m more than in 2024.
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