Moser: Giro's mountains to decide race outcome

The 2010 Giro d'Italia will finish in Verona for the first time since Francesco Moser won the final time trial to take the overall win in 1984. However Italy's Moser believes the final mountain stages will be the deciding factor, not the 15.3 kilometre time trial into Verona's outdoor Roman amphitheatre.

"Seeing the stage brought back a beautiful memory for me. It reminds me of 26 years ago," Moser, 58, told Cyclingnews. "I don't think it will have the same significance as when I raced it because I don't think there will be a close two-man battle in Verona."

In 1984, Moser beat France's Laurent Fignon by 2:24 in the final 42-kilometre time trial and won the race's overall by 1:03 over Fignon.

Moser was one of several past Giro d'Italia winners who attended the presentation of the 2010 route Saturday in Milan.

Organiser RCS Sport presented a traditional route, one with high mountain climbs in the third week. The race, May 8 to 30, covers the Zoncolan, Plan de Corones, Mortirolo and Gavia climbs in the final week. The final stage is a 15.3 kilometre time trial, which starts and ends in Verona.

"It is a very hard course with too many climbs," Moser said. "You want a big show, but when there are so many climbs you risk the riders saving themselves until the final climb."

Russian Denis Menchov won this year's race, but its route was a non-classical one criticised by some observers. It ended in Rome, far from the Giro's famous climbs in the Alps and Dolomites.

Verona will welcome the final stage for only the third time in the race's 93 years. Its first visit was in 1981, when Norway's Knut Knudsen won the time trial from Soave and Italy's Giovanni Battaglin won the overall.