2024 Giro d’Italia Women unveiled, a tough Apennines finish to decide pink jersey

New organizers RCS Sport revealed the route of the 2024 Giro d’Italia Women in Milan on Tuesday, the newly-rebranded race for the pink jersey set for a little later in July than in 2023 and eight stages instead of nine.

This is the Giro d’Italia Women 2024 🗺️💞

Questo è il Giro d’Italia Women 2024 🗺️💞#GirodItaliaWomen #GiroWomen pic.twitter.com/5CzN7ANRkt

— Giro d'Italia Women (@girowomen) December 12, 2023

The 35th Giro’s opening day 14.6-km time trial is in Brescia on July 7 before the corsa rosa heads south. The opportunities for the sprinters come on Stages 2 and 5.

The real fun starts when the race gets into the Apennines. The profile of Stage 5—the longest day in the Giro at 155 km—resembles the jawline of a piranha, so the riders should be prepared for up and down all day.

Stage 7 is the queen stage, with 123 km ending on a double sting—Cat. 1 Passo Larciano cresting at the 75-km mark and then a summit finish on the brutal Blockhaus ascent.

The final stage is no procession: there’s plenty of climbing over 109 km and a finish in L’Aquila.

The last seven editions went to Annemiek van Vleuten or Anna van der Breggen, but both Dutch giants have retired. Another Dutch ace, Demi Vollering, might be looking in 2024 to add a pink jersey to the yellow one she won in this season’s Tour de France Femmes. Two Canadians raced this year’s Giro d’Italia Donne: Magdeleine Vallieres and Maggie Coles-Lyster.