Giro d'Italia 2023 route rolls back years with big hike in time trialling kilometres

The 2023 Giro d’Italia will begin with a spectacular 18.4km time trial on a bike path along the Abruzzo coast and end with a circuit stage in historic Rome, with a total of 70.6km of time trialling but also seven summit finishes and a tough final week through the Dolomites and Julian Alps.

The 2022 Giro included just 26.2km of time trialling, one at the start in Budapest and then another on the final stage around Verona. The 106th edition of the 3,448km race Corsa Rosa has three time trials, with a flat 33.6km cronometro in Emilia Romagna mid-race and a final 18.6km mountainous time trial from Tarvisio to Monte Lussari sanctuary on stage 20. The last time the Giro included more than 70km of time trials was in 2013.

The tripling of the time trial distance in next year’s Giro will surely tempt Remco Evenepoel (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl), Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) and Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers). But the 2023 route also includes a total of 51,300 metres of climbing and mountain finishes at Campo Imperatore, Crans Montana in Switzerland, Monte Bondone, the little-known Val di Zoldo and Tre Cime di Lavaredo.

The stage into Switzerland climbs the 2469-metre Colle del Gran San Bernardo, which will award the Cima Coppi prize to the first rider over the highest climb of the race. The Tre Cime di Lavaredo stage ends at 2304 metres and perhaps above the late-May snow line.

The 2023 Giro d’Italia will start on Saturday, May 6 and end on May 28, with eight stages suiting the sprinters and four hilly stages perfect for aggressive breakaways. The first week is in the south of Italy before a ride north via Tuscany, Turin, Bergamo and the Dolomites.

Business rather than the environment has won out on the location of the final stage, with an initial agreement with Trieste replaced with a more lucrative and prestigious deal for a finish in the capital, Rome. That means the riders and Giro caravan will face a 750km transfer by car, train or plane for a final circuit stage.

The full 2023 Giro d’Italia route was presented in Milan on Monday, with 2022 overall winner Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) one of the guests of honour, along with ciclamino sprints jersey winner Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) and blue climber’s jersey winner Koen Bouwman (Jumbo-Visma).

Former winners Vincenzo Nibali and Alberto Contador were also present at the Giorgio Gaber Teatro Lirico in central Milan, both lobbying for wild card places in the race for their respective teams. Nibali is working with the new Swiss ProTeam created by Doug Ryder and the q36.5 clothing brand, while Contador is part of the management team of the Eolo squad.  

Week 1

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The Abruzzo region will host the Giro d’Italia Grande Partenza for just the second time. The opening week is in the south of il Bel Paese, with a mix of sprint and breakaway stages through Molise, Puglia, Basilicata and into Campania and Naples.

The opening 18.4km time trial is on the Ciclovia dei Trabocchi coastal bike path along a stunning converted train line that passes fishing shacks and small beaches. The finish is in Ortona with a gentle one-kilometre climb to the line.

The sprinters get their first chance on stage 2 and the San Salvo Marina seafront, while some could survive the late Monte Vulture climbs and also have a chance in Melfi on stage 3.

The first mountain-top finish comes on stage 4 to Lago Laceno after 184km of racing and 3500 metres of climbing. It could produce the first GC battle and a change of race leader.

This year’s stage around Naples was spectacular as Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) clashed with Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Materiaux) and Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal) won the stage. Next year a sprint stage finishes in Salerno and then stage 6 visits Sorrento and Amalfi for a breathtaking but tough 156km stage that starts and ends in Naples.

The first week includes a return to Abruzzo and a mountain-top finish at Campo Imperatore in the shadows of the Gran Sasso at 2135 metres. The gradual climb up to the finish lasts 45km with only a false flat mid-climb providing respite. Stage 7 from Terni a Fossombrone in Le Marche offers little chance to recover, with 2500 metres of climbing on the short but steep ‘muri’ climbs often used in Tirreno-Adriatico, the last just five kilometres from the finish.

The stage 9 time trial is on the pan flat roads of Romagna near Rimini. The 33.6km route starts in Savignano al Rubicone and finishes in Cesena at the headquarters of the Technogym company. The likes of Evenepoel and Roglic could gain more than a minute on their rivals on this stage and end the first week in the maglia rosa.

Week 2

After Monday’s first rest day, the Giro crosses into Tuscany and then heads north into Piemonte for expected sprint stages in Viareggio and Tortona, even if both stages include over 2000 metres of climbing.

Things change on stage 12 to Rivoli, with a transition to the bigger and harder climbs. The finale of the 179km stage heads into the hills west of Turin and then follows rolling roads to the finish.

Stage 13 takes the Corsa Rosa out of Italy for the mountain-top finish at Crans Montana in Switzerland and only section of the 2023 outside of Italy. The 208km stage includes 5,100 metres of climbing, with the 2,465-high Colle del Gran San Bernardo the Cima Coppi of the 2023 Giro. The stage also includes the 15km long La Croix de Coeur before the climb up to the finish in the ski resort.

The weekend sees a celebration of Italian cycling, with a finish in Cassano Magnago, Ivan Basso’s home town, and then a hilly stage around Bergamo that covers many of the climbs of Il Lombardia. Local cycling-mad tifosi are expected to invade the roads on both days.

Week 3

Following a second rest day on a Monday, the riders head east towards Trentino for a classic Giro final week in the mountains.

Stage 16 from Sabbio Chiese to Monte Bondone starts low near Lake Garda but includes 5200 metres of climbing on the way to the mountain top finish. The stage covers the 10km Aldeno road to reach the Monte Bondone finish that includes sections at 15%.

The high, exposed mountain is synonymous with Charly Gaul’s attack in a snowstorm in 1956. Race director Mauro Vegni will be hoping for a similar historic day but perhaps with a little less snow.

The only respite from climbing comes on stage 17 with a ride to Caorle on the Venetian coast that gives the sprinters something to suffer for.

The mountains return on stage 18 for a ‘trittico’ of three stages that will test the overall contenders. If the better time trialists still have an advantage overall at this point, they will surely come under attack from the pure climbers.

Stage 18 is from Oderzo to Val di Zoldo. It is only 160km long but RCS Sport have given it a four-star rating, out of a possible maximum of five, in terms of difficulty. The finale includes the Forcella Cibiana and the first-ever visit to the Coi climb, that includes four kilometres at over 10% and sections at 19% just five kilometres from the finish.

Stage 19 is the classic Giro d’Italia tappone or giant stage. The 182km ride from Longarone to Tre Cime di Lavaredo includes 5400 metres of climbing through the stunning Dolomites.

The second half of the stage includes the Passo di Campolongo, the Passo Valparola, the terrible Passo Giau, the Passo Tre Croci and then up to the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, where Nibali won in the snow in 2013.

A transfer takes the riders east close to the border with Slovenia for the Tarvisio to Monte Lussari 18.6km mountain time trial. The Giro will likely be won and lost on the 10km valley road and then the climb to the finish on concrete roads. RCS Sport compares it to the middle section of the Zoncolan. The climb has an average of 12%, with the opening 4.5 kilometres at 15%!

The late decision to snub Trieste and travel 750km south to the capital Rome, means the 2023 Giro d’Italia winner will be crowned on the capital’s rough roads and around the Fori Imperiali ruins, the Colosseum. The 2023 Giro d’Italia is arguably a race for gladiators, with the last rider standing taking the maglia rosa in Rome.