2019 Giro d'Italia presentation - Gallery

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RCS Sport announced the full route details of the 2019 Giro d'Italia from the Rai studios in Milan on Wednesday. The audience that eagerly awaited the big reveal included defending champion Chris Froome (Team Sky) and last year's points winner Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors).

The 2019 race will begin with the Grande Partenza in Bologna, and stage 1 will offer an 8.2km time trial to the Santuario della Madonna di San Luca. There will be another two individual time trials; stage 9 will be 34.7km from Riccione to San Marino, and the finale stage 21 will be 15.6km in Verona, where the overall winner will be crowned.

In between, the race will see five mountaintop finishes on the Colle del Nivolet (stage 13), Ponte di Legno (stage 16), Anterselva (stage 17), San Martino di Castrozza (stage 19) and Crocce d'Aune (stage 20), along with climbs over Manghen, Gavia and Mortirolo.

Froome noted that he was undecided on whether he would return to the Giro d'Italia to defend his title, but noted that one of his teammates would fill his place if he decided to focus only on the Tour de France. Gianni Moscon was also in attendance and is expected to be a contender for the maglia rosa next year. Viviani, who won four sprint stages last year, was also watching the route presentation.