Giro d'Italia 2022 - Stage 14 preview

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Stage 14: Santena to Turin

Date: May 21, 2022

Distance: 147km 

Race times: 13:00-17:15 (CEST)

Stage type: Hilly

The shortest stage of the 2022 Giro d’Italia, stage 14 is a hilly circuit race around the capital of the Piedmont region, Turin. Short does not necessarily mean sweet, though, as is often the case in cycling. With 3,000 metres of ascent, and very little respite in between climbs, the day will favour the climbers, and is likely to be explosive in terms of the general classification.

Beginning in Santena, south of the city, the first 37 kilometres are bumpy but relatively flat compared with what lies ahead. The first climb is a cat 3, the Il Pilonetto, before the race heads south and then west over a couple of uncategorised climbs towards Turin. 

A double circuit of the city follows – two laps of a 36.4km route that begins and ends with an intermediate sprint, and features two ascents each of the Superga (Bric del Duca) and the Colle Della Maddalena, both category 2 tests. The Superga climb is 5.1km at an average gradient of 8.1 per cent, with a maximum of 13.4 per cent, and the Colle Della Maddalena, while shorter, winds its way through the forest on narrow roads, and with a maximum gradient of 20 per cent will be a fearsome challenge for the riders.

With four difficult climbs covered under 70km, this stage should light up the whole race. With points available for the ciclamino jersey, along with a raft of KOM points, there will be multiple races within races as the GC riders and those looking simply for a stage win vie for supremacy.

Riders who might fancy their chances on this stage are climbers such as Davide Formolo, Giulio Ciccone, Mauri Vansevenant, Alejandro Valverde, Lennard Kämna and Romain Bardet, who will look to this stage to launch his GC campaign, trying to best the likes of João Almeida, Simon Yates and Richard Carapaz, who will be favourites for the general classification going into the race.