Gravel, two time trials and the Stelvio planned for 2024 Giro d’Italia
Double ascent of Monte Grappa to conclude the GC fight
Photo by:
Sirotti
The organizers of the Giro d’Italia revealed the corsa rosa of the 107th edition on Friday in Trento, in the northeast of Italy. The highlights of the 2024 race will be 68 km of individual time trials–the 2023 Giro had 73 km–gravel, the Stelvio and a double ascent of Monte Grappa on the penultimate day, May 25.
Week 1
The first four stages were revealed on Monday. The race will begin in Torino on May 4 and part of the opening 136-km route includes ascending part of the Superga climb in tribute to the Torino football team killed in a 1949 airplane crash on this hill. The first summit finish, 11.8 km of 6.2 percent, comes at the end of stage 2 to Oropa. The next two stages are ones for the sprinters, with Stage 4 taking the race out of the Piemonte region.
Stage 6 features 11.6 km of gravel in final third of 177 km. The next day is the first chrono, 37.2 km between Foligno and Perugia with a bit of a climb at the end, but not enough to deem it a mountain time trial. There’s a 14 km summit finish on Stage 8 up Prati di Tivo, and the week ends with a 206-km stage into Napoli
Week 2
Week 2 comes bounding in on May 14 with a 18 km summit finish on Bocca della Selva near Napoli.
The Giro starts to return north on the Adriatic Sea side. There’s a stretch of sprint action until Stage 14 abruptly snaps the GC men back into play with the shorter of the two time trials. Week 2 concludes with a two-headed Cat. 1 summit finish at the end of a 220-km day on May 19.
Week 3
Except for Stage 18 and the final procession into Rome on May 26, the final week is all about mountains. The Cima Coppi is Stage 16’s Stelvio, which comes early in the day before a double-headed summit finish similar to Stage 15’s, but not as hard. Passo Del Brocon is Stage 17’s summit finish. The final GC day doesn’t have a summit finish, but Stage 20 does boast a back to back ascent of 18-km Monte Grappa.
It will be interesting to see which of this year’s GC heavyweights will compete for the maglia rosa next year. Primož Roglič’s move to Bora-Hansgrohe facilitates his desire to win the Tour de France. Next season will likely see Remco Evenepoel, in the 2023 pink jersey until COVID-19 caused him to withdraw, race his first Tour.
The 2023 runner-up Geraint Thomas is Ineos’ best GC man now and he too should be vying for Tour honours. How about third-place João Almeida–will he be UAE-Emirates’ protected rider or will Tadej Pogačar choose not to bang his head against the Jonas Vingegaard wall at the Tour for another year and try for pink?
Canadians have been in 17 consecutive editions of the Giro. Will Derek Gee, four-time stage runner-up in a Grand Tour debut where he placed 22nd, return to where he made his WorldTour bones?
On Friday RCS Sport also rebranded the Giro d’Italia Donne for 2024 as the Giro d’Italia Women with a new infinity trophy to be held over eight stages from July 7-14, but the presentation of the route has been delayed.
