The organisers of the Giro d'Italia have announced that the daily intermediate sprints of the Corsa Rosa will be known as the Red Bull KM, awarding time bonuses of six, four and two seconds to the first three riders to the line.
Instead of the usual line on the road and a banner indicating the intermediate sprint, Giro d'Italia organisers RCS Sport said the Red Bull KM "will feature a Red Bull branded kilometre, which will serve as the 'gateway' to the only intermediate sprint that counts toward the general classification."
RCS Sport said there will be Red Bull KMs on 19 of the 21 stages in the 2025 Giro d'Italia. The Red Bull KM time bonuses will not be awarded on stage 2 and stage 10 individual time trials. For the final road race stage in Rome on June 1, Red Bull said they "will surprise the entire group with an incredible surprise". The intermediate sprint will be just 25km from the finish in central Rome, in the Via di San Gregorio, near the Coliseum.
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The time bonuses could play a role in the overall battle, as Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Juan Ayuso and Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates), Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) and Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling) race for the maglia rosa.
In 2023, Roglič beat Geraint Thomas by just 14 seconds after a close race and decisive mountain time trial.
Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), Tom Pidcock (Q36.5), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and a host of sprinters will target stage victories and the first maglia rosa in Albania.
The 2025 Giro d'Italia starts on Friday May 9 in Albania and ends three weeks later on Sunday June 1 in the Italian capital Rome.
Last week RCS Sport announced that the race leader's pink jersey will be sponsored by Italian men's underwear brand Iuman. This came after reported talks with One Cycling backer SURJ from Saudi Arabia apparently failed to reach a successful conclusion. RCS Sport have lost former national energy company Enel as a major pink jersey and Giro d'Italia sponsor.
The energy drink claimed the intermediate sprints competition, and bonus seconds will add 'extra wings' to the Giro d’Italia.
"Since the Red Bull KM will be the only intermediate point of the race awarding bonus seconds for the overall standings - alongside the stage finish, where the winner gets a 10-second bonus - it will ignite fierce battles within the peloton," Red Bull claimed in an RCS Sport announcement.
Breakaways often sweep up the time bonuses during Grand Tour stages but teams may be tempted to race more often for the time bonuses this year. The Red Bull KM could spark changes in face leadership, especially before the high mountain stages and time trial from Lucca to Pisa on stage 11.
Ten, six and four seconds are expected to be awarded at stage finishes but RCS Sport have yet to publish their final race manual. Each road stage will still include two traditional intermediate sprints but only points for the cyclamen-coloured points jersey will be awarded there.
There were no intermediate sprints indicated on the initial maps and stage profiles issued by RCS Sport when the race route was revealed in early January. Now, RCS Sport have revealed their final maps and profiles, and the distance from the finish when the ten, six and four seconds will be awarded at the Red Bull KM.
Updated maps profiles show the position of the Red Bull KM just 48km from the finish and atop a small hill during the 160km opening stage from Durazzo to Tirana.
The Red Bull KM is just 14km from the finish of the 181km stage from Gubbio to Siena. The intermediate sprint is at the top of the steep Colle Pinzuto gravel climb and is likely to be contested by the overall contenders.
The Red Bull KM is 32km from the finish of stage 20 and just 4.3km from the summit of the gravel-road Colle delle Finestre climb.
