2013 Giro Guide

If you want a simple and accessible online Giro d’Italia guide, here it is. There’s a concise preview of every stage, with my quick take on the day added. Use the links here to find your way around the stage previews, the start list and the other points. From now until the end of the race you’ll find the page linked at the top of the page, look for “Giro”.

Route summary | The Contenders | Rider list | The jerseys | The unmissable stages | TV viewing | iCal download

Stage 1 |	Stage 2 |	Stage 3 |	Stage 4 |	Stage 5 |	Stage 6 |	Stage 7 |	Stage 8 |	Stage 9 |	Rest day
Stage 10 |	Stage 11 |	Stage 12 |	Stage 13 |	Stage 14 |	Stage 15 |	Rest day
Stage 16 |	Stage 17 |	Stage 18 |	Stage 19 |	Stage 20 |	Stage 21 |

In addition there will be coverage throughout the race with detailed daily previews of the stages as well as post race analysis of the key moments, commentary and a look at Italian cycling, culture and more.

Route summary
With a a team time trial and one long time trial during the first week suits the rouleurs but then the next two weeks allow the climbers to play catch-up, forcing them to attack in order to gain time with only an uphill time trial near the end to help reverse the balance. As ever the Giro sees mountain on the horizon with eight uphill finishes, of which five are substantial summit finishes. Look closely and many of the crucial mountain stages are only 150km long, they are designed to encourage lively racing as opposed the past where long distances dulled legs and TV action alike.

The route builds to the final week but there will be surprises along the way with … as well as the usual nervous bunch sprints and the drama of the high mountains. It’s the variety of stages and terrain that make the daily battles so good to watch although inevitably over three weeks there will be some siesta days.

Judging by the profiles, it looks like there are few stages for the pure sprinters but note that time bonuses are available most days and these will be crucial for the final result. Here are the whole three weeks of profiles in one image.

Now on to each stage. Note the annotations where TV = Traguardo Volante or Intermediate Sprint and R = Rifornimento or Feed Zone.

Stage 1 – Saturday 4 May

A late route change sees the 10 laps cancelled. Instead the opening stage sees the race loop around Naples with some climbing before a flatter and faster finished. The day’s stage win brings the leaders jersey too thanks to the time bonuses.

Stage 2 – Sunday 5 May

A team time trial on the island of Ischia. As you’d expect from a small island and a coastal route the route has many tight turns. The short distance and technical nature means it’ll be a close contest and one which will help shape the overall classification but should not dominate it for long.

Stage 3 – Monday 6 May

The race sprints away from the shadier parts of the bay of Naples to start in Sorrento and the touristy Amalfi coast. Two climbs along the way are steady with long sections at 4-5% although the second one has a few moments at 8% to add a hint of danger.

Stage 4 – Tuesday 7 May

If Italy is shaped like a boot, today is a journey south to the toecap and the final climbs will see riders giving each other a kicking on the climb of the Croce Ferrata, the “iron cross.” But it’s a stage for the all round riders as the last ascension is 5.6km at just over 6% with one 10% moment and then a fast downhill run to the finish.

Stage 5 – Wednesday 8 May

A flat day but with a few bumps. The climb to Montescaglioso is two kilometres at 10%, probably not enough for the stage winner to ride away but enough to eject some sprinters before the uphill run into Matera. The town is famous for the Sassi di Matera, the ancient stone houses some of which are cave-like dwellings built into the cliff-face.

Stage 6 – Thursday 9 May

One for the sprinters as the race heads north. Note the circuit finish in Margherita di Savoia, there’s one passage over the finish line before a rectangular loop out in the countryside. The town is named after a former queen of Italy and if the country is a republic today, the pizza margherita lives on.

Stage 7 – Friday 10 May

The stage is up and down all day and the climbs are hard because gradient but also repetition meaning if the sprinters can cope with some climbing there could be a few too many here. A breakaway could get away but if not expect a nervous race from the overall contenders worried about being trapped.

Stage 8 – Saturday 11 May

The decisive stage of the 2013 Giro? No but it will redefine the GC and allow the time trial specialists and overall contenders to stake their claim to the race. Note the final ramp to the finish, a long drag that’s unlikely to suit a climber. After 55km the time gaps will be big and this stage was designed to attract the likes of Bradley Wiggins. The question is how much lead can the rouleurs take over the climbers?

Stage 9 – Sunday 12 May

A quick visit to Toscana or Tuscany, one of Italy’s cycling heartlands. Along the way some real climbs to tackle. But instead of a nod to past champions of the region like Gino Bartali, this takes a peak at the future as the final climb to Fiesole is part of the circuit for the World Championships later this year. Expect to see the Pinocchio mascot again.

Stage 10 – Tuesday 14 May

The first mountain summit finish of the race and the route is perfect for this point in the race, selective but not enough to settle race. 100km to warm up after the rest day and then the first climb. The Passo Cason di Lanza is 15km at 5.9% but note the descent in the middle which skews the maths. Instead there are large sections over 10%. The final climb has 5km at 10% which is highly selective, more so with a 15% section. It is the “Twitter stage” where messages sent in by others will be painted on the road. Your correspondent thought of sending “If you can read this then you’re going too slow” but thought better.

Stage 11 – Wednesday 15 May

A big climb over the Sella Ciampigotto pass which is hard but rolls well for most of the way. The finish will mark the 50th anniversary of the Vajont disaster. The Vajont dam is one of the world’s tallest and holds a large lake but in 1963 a landslide provoked a huge wave in the artificial lake which crashed over the dam and caused about 2,000 people to die in the flooding below. The disaster became highly politicised with different sides accusing each other, a topic that is still relevant in today’s Italy with the L’Aquila earthquake. But the race can benefit from the hilly terrain which the dam exploits and the final climb will suit a punchy rider.

Stage 12 – Thursday 16 May

A finish for the sprinters but it’s not without its difficulties. The Ca’ Del Poggio was the main climb of the tough 2010 Italian national championships but it’s only climbed once. The race rolls into Treviso, the home of frame maker Pinarello.

Stage 13 – Friday 17 May

A transition stage and the longest day in the race. And not just in terms of distance but probably for TV viewers as well because the race is flat and rolls across the Pianura, the plains where they grow rice for all those risotto dishes, the terrain often described by singer Paolo Conte, in fact one of his songs is about Stradella, a place on the route after 68km. There’s a chance for surprise ambush late in the day but many riders will be thinking about the next stage.

Stage 14 – Saturday 18 May

A short stage at 156km but packed with climbing. When the route was announced last year the name of Jafferau stood out because it’s a mountain with an infamous long unsurfaced mountain pass. But as wild as the Giro can get, this stage finish is “only” 7.2km at 9% on standard roads to cluster of ski lifts above Bardonnechia and, to the relief of many riders, won’t take the ancient pass any higher.

Stage 15 – Sunday 19 May

A French accent to the race and an accent aigu with the Mont Cenis and then the Télégraphe and Galibier combo. At 150km this is again a short stage but with a lot of vertical gain and there’s nowhere to hide on the Galibier.

Stage 16 – Tuesday 21 May

The start reverses the previous day’s route as the race climbs back to Italy and then skirts along the bottom of the Alpine foothills past Turin to Ivrea and the end of the Aosta valley where the race crosses the line to climb up to Andrate before a fast descent back to the finish.

Stage 17 – Wednesday 22 May

The painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was named after the the start town but clearly the race didn’t find much inspiration because the route is hardly an exploration of light and dark with the short climb above Barbano Vicentino the only bright spot. But the race is on and remember days like this are essential for the points competition. The finish in Vicenza is the home town of Campagnolo.

Stage 18 – Thursday 23 May

The profile says it all: a short uphill time trial. It’s not quite a mountain time trial but the gradients will hurt. It’s a balanced course that could allow the more powerful riders to take back some time from the pure climbers. As short as the stage might be it is a specific effort that requires a lot of concentration and places a big load on the legs ahead of two crucial stages.

Stage 19 – Friday 24 May

Huge climbs and a short distance means this could be an explosive stage. The Passo Gavia is infamous and the Passo Stelvio is the literal high point of the race and a very challenging climb especially because its length induces fatigue. All this before the climb of Val Martello, 22.3km long at 6.4% but with a series of steep steps to climb on the way making it ideal for attacks. Will this stage settle the result of the race? No, because look at the next day.

Stage 20 – Saturday 25 May

The Queen stage of the race, there are four climbs which are each had in their own right but by now the race is three weeks old and this is the third consecutive day of climbing. The final ascension to the Tre Cime de Lavaredo is a mythical place in the Giro and its steep slopes are the last chance to decide the race. During the final four kilometres the gradient reaches 18% and never dips below 10%.

Stage 21 – Sunday 27 May

Basta! The final day would be a parade to the city of Brescia only it’s surprisingly long 199km meaning amongst the fun and games there’s plenty of riding to reach the finish line. Unlike the Tour and Vuelta the Giro happily swaps the host for the final stage and Brescia won the bid in part thanks to money but also because because road closures were no problems.

Rider list – updated daily to include riders who have dropped out

Garmin-Sharp
1. Ryder Hesjedal (CAN)
2. Thomas Danielson (USA)
3. Thomas Dekker (NED)
4. Nathan Haas (AUS)
5. Robert Hunter (RSA)
6. David Millar (GBR)
7. Ramūnas Navardauskas (LTU)
8. Peter Stetina (USA)
9. Christian Vandevelde (USA)

Ag2r La Mondiale
11. Domenico Pozzovivo (ITA)
12. Davide Appollonio (ITA)
13. Manuel Belletti (ITA)
14. Julien Bérard (FRA)
15. Carlos Betancur (COL)
16. Guillaume Bonnafond (FRA)
17. Hubert Dupont (FRA)
18. Ben Gastauer (LUX)
19. Sylvain Georges (FRA)

Androni Giocattoli – Venezuela
21. Franco Pellizotti (ITA)
22. Giairo Ermeti (ITA)
23. Fabio Felline (ITA)
24. Mattia Gavazzi (ITA)
25. Tomas GilMartinez (VEN)
26. Jackson Rodriguez (VEN)
27. Diego Rosa (ITA)
28. Miguel Angel Rubiano (COL)
29. Emanuele Sella (ITA)

Astana
31. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA)
32. Valerio Agnoli (ITA)
33. Fabio Aru (ITA)
34. Dmitriy Gruzdev (KAZ)
35. Tanel Kangert (EST)
36. Fredrik Kessiakoff (SWE)
37. Paolo Tiralongo (ITA)
38. Alessandro Vanotti (ITA)
39. Andrey Zeits (KAZ)

Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox
41. Sacha Modolo (ITA)
42. Enrico Battaglin (ITA)
43. Nicola Boem (ITA)
44. Francesco Bongiorno (ITA)
45. Marco Canola (ITA)
46. Sonny Colbrelli (ITA)
47. Stefano Locatelli (ITA)
48. Stefano Pirazzi (ITA)
49. Edoardo Zardini (ITA)

Blanco
51. Robert Gesink (NED)
52. Jack Bobridge (AUS)
53. Stef Clement (NED)
54. Juan Manuel Garate(ESP)
55. Wilco Kelderman (NED)
56. Steven Kruijswijk (NED)
57. Paul Martens (GER)
58. Maarten Tjallingii (NED)
59. Maarten Wynants (BEL)

BMC Racing
61. Cadel Evans (AUS)
62. Adam Blythe (GBR)
63. Stephen Cummings (GBR)
64. Klaas Lodewyck (BEL)
65. Steve Morabito (SUI)
66. Daniel Oss (ITA)
67. Taylor Phinney (USA)
68. Ivan Santaromita (ITA)
69. Danilo Wyss (SUI)

Cannondale
71. Damiano Caruso (ITA)
72. Tiziano Dall’Antonia (ITA)
73. Paolo Longo Borghini (ITA)
74. Alan Marangoni (ITA)
75. Fabio Sabatini (ITA)
76. Cristiano Salerno (ITA)
77. Cayetano Sarmiento (COL)
78. Elia Viviani (ITA)
79. Cameron Wurf (AUS)

Colombia
81. Darwin Atapuma (COL)
82. Edwin Avila (COL)
83. Robinson Chalapud (COL)
84. Fabio Duarte (COL)
85. Leonardo Duque (COL)
86. Wilson Marentes (COL)
87. Dalivier Ospina (COL)
88. Jarlinson Pantano (COL)
89. Carlos Quintero (COL)

Euskaltel-Euskadi
91. Samuel Sanchez (ESP)
92. Jorge Azanza (ESP)
93. Egoi Martinez (ESP)
94. Ricardo Mestre (POR)
95. Miguel Minguez (ESP)
96. Ioannis Tamouridis (GRE)
97. Pablo Urtasun (ESP)
98. Gorka Verdugo (ESP)
99. Robert Vrečer (SLO)

FDJ
100. Nacer Bouhanni (FRA)
101. Sandy Casar (FRA)
102. Murilo Fischer (BRA)
103. Arnold Jeannesson (FRA)
104. Johan Le Bon (FRA)
105. Francis Mourey (FRA)
106. Laurent Pichon (FRA)
107. Dominique Rollin (CAN)
109. Anthony Roux (FRA)

Katusha
111. Luca Paolini (ITA)
112. Maxim Belkov (RUS)
113. Pavel Brutt (RUS)
114. Giampaolo Caruso (ITA)
115. Vladimir Gusev (RUS)
116. Petr Ignatenko (RUS)
117. Dmitry Kozontchuk (RUS)
118. Yury Trofimov (RUS)
119. Angel Vicioso (ESP)

Lampre-Merida
121. Michele Scarponi (ITA)
122. Mattia Cattaneo (ITA)
123. Kristijan Durašek (CRO)
124. Roberto Ferrari (ITA)
125. Przemyslaw Niemiec (POL)
126. Daniele Pietropolli (ITA)
127. Filippo Pozzato (ITA)
128. José Serpa (COL)
129. Simone Stortoni (ITA)

Lotto-Belisol
131. Lars Bak (DEN)
132. Dirk Bellemakers (NED)
133. Brian Bulgac (NED)
134. Francis De Greef (BEL)
135. Kenny Dehaes (BEL)
136. Gert Dockx (BEL)
137. Adam Hansen (AUS)
138. Vicente Reynes (ESP)
139. Frederik Willems (BEL)

Movistar
141. Eros Capecchi (ITA)
142. Juan José Cobo (ESP)
143. Alex Dowsett (GBR)
144. José Herrada (ESP)
145. Beñat Intxausti (ESP)
146. Vladimir Karpets (RUS)
147. Pablo Lastras (ESP)
148. Francisco Ventoso (ESP)
149. Giovanni Visconti (ITA)

Omega Pharma-Quick Step
151. Mark Cavendish (GBR)
152. Gianluca Brambilla (ITA)
153. Michal Gołas (POL)
154. Iljo Keisse (BEL)
155. Serge Pauwels (BEL)
156. Jérôme Pineau (FRA)
157. Gert Steegmans (BEL)
158. Matteo Trentin (ITA)
159. Julien Vermote (BEL)

Orica-GreenEdge
161. Matthew Goss(AUS)
162. Luke Durbridge (AUS)
163. Leigh Howard (AUS)
164. Jens Keukeleire (BEL)
165. Brett Lancaster (AUS)
166. Christian Meier (CAN)
167. Jens Mouris (NED)
168. Svein Tuft (CAN)
169. Pieter Weening (NED)

Radioshack-Leopard
171. George Bennett (NZL)
172. Danilo Hondo (GER)
173. Robert Kišerlovski (CRO)
174. Tiago Machado (POR)
175. Giacomo Nizzolo (ITA)
176. Nelson Oliviera (POR)
177. Yaroslav Popovych (UKR)
178. Hayden Roulston (NZL)
179. Jesse Sergent (NZL)

Team Sky
181. Bradley Wiggins (GBR)
182. Dario Cataldo (ITA)
183. Sergio Henao (COL)
184. Christian Knees (GER)
185. Danny Pate (USA)
186. Salvatore Puccio (ITA)
187. Kanstantsin Siutsou (BLR)
188. Rigoberto Uran (COL)
189. Xabier Zandio (ESP)

Argos-Shimano
191. John Degenkolb (GER)
192. Thomas Damuseau (FRA)
193. Bert De Backer (BEL)
194. Koen De Kort (NED)
195. Patrick Gretsch (GER)
196. Cheng Ji (CHN)
197. Tobias Ludvigsson (SWE)
198. Luka Mezgec (SLO)
199. Albert Timmer (NED)

Saxo-Tinkoff
201. Rafał Majka (POL)
202. Daniele Bennati (ITA)
203. Manuele Boaro (ITA)
204. Matti Breschel (DEN)
205. Mads Christensen (DEN)
206. Karsten Kroon (NED)
207. Evgeni Petrov (RUS)
208. Bruno Pires (POR)
209. Rory Sutherland (AUS)

Vacansoleil-DCM
211. Marco Marcato (ITA)
212. Grega Bole (SLO)
213. Martijn Keizer (NED)
214. Maurits Lammertink (NED)
215. Pim Ligthart (NED)
216. Rob Ruijgh (NED)
217. Rafael VallsFerri (ESP)
218. Frederik Veuchelen (BEL)
219. Willem Wauters (BEL)

Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
221. Stefano Garzelli (ITA)
222. Rafael Andriato (BRA)
223. Francesco Chicchi (ITA)
224. Danilo Di Luca (ITA)
225. Oscar Gatto (ITA)
226. Alessandro Proni (ITA)
227. Matteo Rabottini (ITA)
228. Mauro Santambrogio (ITA)
229. Fabio Taborre (ITA)

The Jerseys

There are four jerseys in the race: pink, blue, red and white.
Pink: the most famous one, the maglia rosa, it is awarded to the rider with the shortest overall time for all the stages added together. As such, they have covered the course faster than anyone else. It is pink because the race has always been organised by newspaper La Gazzetta Dello Sport which is printed on bright pink paper. It is sponsored by Balocco, a biscuit maker.

There are time bonuses available on all the road stages, ie not the prologue, team time trial or the final time trial stage.

• 20 seconds for the winner, 12 seconds for second place and eight seconds for third place
• Also for the intermediate sprint of the day six, four and two seconds are available for the first three riders

Blue: the mountains jersey. It was green in the past but is now blue, the maglia azzurra. It is sponsored by Banca Mediolanum, a bank. Points are available on the climbs in the race. There are five categories of climb:

• Fourth category: the first three riders crossing the top of the climb win 3, 2 and 1 points respectively.
• Third category: the first four riders over the top get 5, 3, 2, 1 points
• Second category: first five riders get 9, 5, 3, 2, 1 points
• First category: the first six riders get 15, 9, 5, 3, 2, 1 points
• Cima Coppi: a special award, the “Coppi Summit” for the highest point of the race. This year it is the Passo Stelvio on Stage 19. The first seven win points: 21, 15, 9, 5, 3, 2, 1 points

Red: the points competition. Riders pick up points at the intermediate sprints during a stage and at the finish line. Points are awarded at an intermediate spring and the finish line. It is sponsored by Italo, a train operator.

• For the intermediate sprints, the traguardi volanti, there are 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 points for the first six
• The first 15 on the finish line get 25, 20, 16, 14, 12, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 points

White: for the best young rider, this is awarded on the same basis as the pink jersey, except the rider must be born after 1 January 1988, ie aged 25 or under. It is sponsored by Fratelli Orsero, a fruit distributor.

Obviously a rider can’t wear two jerseys at once, they’d get too hot. So if a rider leads several classifications, they take the most prestigious jersey for themselves and the number two ranked rider in the other competition gets to wear the other jersey. For example if a rider has both the pink jersey and the blue mountains jersey they’ll wear pink whilst whoever is second in the mountains jersey will sport blue jersey.

There are also a host of daily prizes which keep the podium ceremonies going for some time.

The unmissable stages
Anything can happen during the Giro but there are some stages that matter more than others. Note the first week will have plenty of drama and both the prologue and the team time trial will see time gaps open up, possibly large ones for some. There will be sprint finishes which are always tense. But if you need to plan ahead and book space in your diary, here are some suggestions for the stages to watch.

Stage 3 – Monday 6 May: it might be a day for the sprinters but the hilly finish means that’s not certain and the race will be fast and furious, tune in for the last half hour.

Stage 4 – Tuesday May: this isn’t a summit finish but it’s the first uphill test and goes to 900m above sea level. It’s too early for lessons about the overall classification but the stage finish should be lively.

Stage 8 – Saturday 11 May: the longer the time trial, the smaller the suspense. It might not be great TV but it will set the tone for the next two weeks, the tactics for every overall contender and pretender will depend on the result.

Stage 10 – Thursday 14 May: the first summit finish of the race and the steep gradients mean the first mountain test.

Stage 14 – Saturday 18 May: another summit finish.

Stage 15 – Sunday 19 May: another summit finish? Yes but the race visits France and climbs to the top of the Galibier.

Stage 18 – Thursday 23 May: the uphill time trial, will this shake-up the overall classification?

Stage 19 – Friday 24 May: the penultimate mountain stage promises plenty of punch during just 139km.

Stage 20 – Saturday 25 May: have they saved the best to the end? The final stage in the high mountains will decide the race winner.

TV viewing
In recent years the race has offered free streaming via La Gazzetta TV and but this is being scrapped.

Instead the race will be on a variety of TV channels according to where you are in the world. Eurosport is covering the race across most of Europe. beIN SPORT has the rights in the US and France.

Italian host broadcaster RAI offers the best coverage with experienced commentators as well as roving reporters on motorbikes to add extra coverage. As ever cyclingfans.com and steephill.tv are the go-to sites.

The timing will vary but the finish is expected for around 5.00pm each day.

Giro iCal
The calendar sees the stage listed along with the distance and also the rating. The Giro awards stars to each stage to indicate the difficulty or importance, from one to five stars for the biggest days.

inrng2013Giro.ics

Save the ics / iCal / iCalendar file and you can import it into your electronic diary. One or two clicks and it’s on your iPhone / Outlook etc. Alternatively you can use the Google calendar below.

Just use +Google Calendar option. Note this method works with Android phones when the iCal file might not.

Remember a similar calendar exists for all the main pro races for men and women and can be found at inrng.com/calendar.