Giro reveals Roman time trial details

Giro d'Italia organiser RCS Sport revealed the details of the final stage of the 2009 edition, May 9 to 31, yesterday in Rome. The stage race ends with a 15.5-kilometre time trial through the country's capital city, passing moments such as the Colosseum and Piazza di Spagna.

"It will be a tribute to Rome," race director Angelo Zomegnan told Agr. "It is important to remember where this Giro starts, it was clear that this edition would arrive here in Rome."

The 100th anniversary Giro d'Italia starts with a team time trial on Venice's lido. After one week of racing, there is a second time trial – a 61.7-kilometre test in the Ligurian region. The race travels south for its conclusion in Rome.

The stage starts and finishes near the Colosseum. It begins with four kilometres of uphill and the final 11 are flat (15.5km in total, up from the original 15.3km). There are 17 turns in the breathtaking circuit that takes in Via Veneto, Piazza di Spagna, San Pietro, Castel Sant'Angelo, Piazza del Popolo, La Bocca della Verità and Il Circo Massimo.

The Italian Grand Tour used Milan as its finishing city in recent editions. Zomegnan is considering a return to Rome in 2011 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Unity of Italy.