The 2027 Giro d’Italia route has been unveiled. Here’s a stage-by-stage look at the men’s race and some thoughts and data on the course.
It runs from Saturday 8 May to Sunday 30 May 2027.
When once an “iron curtain” fell between Italy and Slovenia, Stage 1 celebrates gives a literal meaning to the “sinews of peace” as riders will strain theirs while celebrating the open border as they criss-cross between both countries. The hilly finish with three marked climbs and more in the final 40km could drop some sprinters but several ought to be able to hold on.
Stage 2 starts in the Slovenian capital and goes to Koper, a seaside town where hopefully some entrepreneur has a bar called the Kabana. What’s certain is it’s a regular stage, via the main road from the capital to the coast. The final climb is a wide main road but just enough to eject some sprinters.
Stage 3 looks flat with two little bumps but the second of these is a hard climb. When the Giro went over the Mostaccin in 2016 the peloton split and in just three kilometres at 9% we got a selection worth of an Alpine climb with several GC candidates clear and some caught out behind. A few riders, and plenty in the race convoy, will remember this which could make for a self-fulfilling outcome.
Stage 4 is the first obvious sprint stage with a finish on the Adriatic coast by Rimini using the Misano motor racing circuit. The map is not out yet but the course could have some twists around Cerasolo but that’s about it for surprises. It’s all on the home roads of the Bardiani team but it looks like they won’t be there.
Stage 5 and the first summit finish. The Giro pays tribute to Michele Scarponi with the start in Filottrano. The summit finish is new for the Giro but a classic in Tirreno-Adriatico where Simon Yates and Mikel Landa have won; this is not one of those first week big ring climbs the Giro sometimes has, even in May it’ll be more selective.
Stage 6 is an uphill finish of sorts to Lanciano. The towns is perched on a ridge and if we can see the profile it’s worth waiting for the details because today’s profile has come out but not the micro details. Is this going to be a twisty finale in town over ancient flagstones to finish by a landmark, or will it end up by an industrial estate on the edge of town for the sake of convenience?
Stage 7 is the first time trial of the race and if the profile makes it look like a mountain time trial, it doesn’t quack like one. It’s main roads with steady gradients, often 4% and so everyone will use time trial bikes but it’ll feel like a course to test back muscles as much as legs. This will frustrate a rider like Ganna but equally leave pure climbers floundering.
Stage 8 and the race returns to Napoli again, the race has a deal with the city. Note the uphill finish, the line appears to rise, and even higher than the Monte di Procida climb before, so expect a different kind of finish than last year’s Mario Kart course or other flat sprints. If the race always visits hopefully the seemingly habitual rain – at least from the last two years – stays away.
Stage 9 goes to Monte Livata, tested by RCS recently in the U23 Giro when Lorenzo Finn won the stage and time gaps go wide. The 17% label feels excessive but the first three kilometres are over 10% so it’s another selective summit finish. Probably not race defining but hard again, don’t expect a large group of GC contenders to trundle to the line behind the breakaway as gravity will impose.
Stage 10 is a long day across the Sibillini mountains including the Presta climb, it’s ripe for a breakaway thanks to the uphill start to help the breakaway form and the distance where several teams might be content to let the “right” move stay away.
Stage 11 passes by plenty of climbs but sticks to the flat of the Arno valley all day except for the one climb, branded as Vetta le Croci but looking a lot like the Passo dell’Alberaccio before dropping down to the finish on the Mugello motor racing circuit. The climbing again should be enough to eject and deject some sprinters.
Stage 12 and a Tuscan stage that might bring back memories for some as the finish is in Lunigiana, once an old province and today, at least for the peloton associated with one of the best junior stage races, where past winners include Tadej Pogačar, Remco Evenepoel and Paul Seixas and plenty more. The Zum Zeri climb is a ski station summit that’s sparse in winter and summer alike and another steep finish.
Stage 13 is a dash to Reggio for a likely sprint finish.
Stage 14 is an alternative giro di Lombardia, ticking off the Ghisallo climb but in the reverse direction to usual. And more mountainous than the classic, 4,900m of vertical gain ending in another summit finish. Bobbio comes after 10km at a tough 9% and while almost a road to nowhere, it ends in a small car park but it is a wide road.
Stage 15 is a time trial from Monza’s motor racing circuit to Milan, the same start and finish as 2016’s final stage but this has added kilometres.
Stage 16 is the tappone, the big stage. At 192km it’s not the longest distance but could last the longest given the 5,700m vertical gain – weather permitting for 25 May – and the severity, the Mortirolo is climbed twice and each time via the hard “Pantani” route from Mazzo. The Gavia is the literal high point of the race and features a novelty with a “new” cycle path. Towards the top there’s long been been a tunnel and outside this, a small gravel track hugging the cliff face – immortalised by Jobst Brand – but now this path been cleared of debris, paved and the fencing improved. It’s only half a kilometre but it’s only just a car width wide so team cars might have to take the tunnel and spectators could be blocked but the plan is to promote the cycle path for cyclists. The Mortirolo features again as a sadist gesture and the road to Aprica is awkward, not as steep as what’s come before but by now very tiring.
Stage 17 goes to Vo’ which briefly became internationally famous in 2020 when the Covid-19 outbreak started in Italy and in February the first observed fatality. The town was quarantined, as in closed off to outsiders and has since been studied. Now it’s open to all with two climbs in the Euganei hills to thwart the sprinters. The race can show the enduring scenery and charms of this place, displacing its brief viral fame.
Stage 18 is a mountain stage but accessible to many, the two climbs of the Durone (“callous pass”, was it a hard walk in old boots?) are almost big ring kind of climbs but the mid-stage Daone will get front and rear mechs moving with its sustained 11-12% slopes. The final climb sees the slope ease, infamous for Pantani’s Giro ejection, the race has returned several times since and Ben O’Connor won here in 2020.
Stage 19 is ripe for a third week breakaway as tired riders confront the desperation of a last shot at the win.
Stage 20 with the Zoncolan. It’s climbed via the hardest side, last used in 2018 when Chris Froome and Simon Yates duelled, often just seconds away from each other. This is a climb whose name has quickly become a brand, a yardstick: “Is it as hard as the Zoncolan?” Today lower gearing means it’s not the dreaded experience it once was but it remains fearsome, because if someone is to attack to win the race or make a late GC gain it requires so much force just to accelerate and take a few metres. The Zoncolan’s slopes will settle things, and all before the natural amphitheatre towards the finish where an expectant weekend crowd will roar home the riders.
Stage 21 is the regular Rome finish, a trip to the sea before laps around the city.
The Verdict
The first route of new race director Stefano Allochio. An ex-pro, he was sprinter but there’s no kindred sympathy here, three sprint stages look certain but it’s a stretch to get to five. Two time trials stand out and the distance of 50km sounds like molto but two years ago the total was over 70km, and flat.
There was talk earlier in the year the Giro would go piano on the mountains until later in the race but there’s plenty throughout, the summit finishes are all hard. 50,250m of vertical gain in 2027 is within the norms, there’s no inducement like 2024 to accommodate a Giro-Tour double. Five summit finishes – two more than the Tour – make the mountains as crucial to the winner as ever as well. With few sprint stages and regular 20-30 minute summit finishes there’s a Spanish feel. ¿La Vuelta de Italia?
The use of motor racing circuits isn’t novel but three in a year is; it’s hoped to boost safety but the climb before the finish on Mugello may do the trick as well. Other stages have a circuit feel; twice up the Mortirolo on one stage, double Durone on another, this is spectator-friendly and helps contain the course for the organisers too.
The Gavia, Mortirolo and Zoncolan all make welcome returns, the Giro as much, or even more than the Tour, needs its celebrity climbs as they supply box office appeal; plenty of other stages offer sport with surprises in the Apennines. The only thing missing from this Giro is the south of Italy, the race doesn’t venture beyond Napoli.
Today’s presentation was notable because it happened today, much earlier than usual. It wasn’t long ago that the race route was unveiled in January and teams had to be given a draft suggestion of the course ahead because they had plans to hatch. Now there’s plenty of time to review the route. To the point where today it’s unclear who will ride.
Remco Evenepoel? Two time trials totalling 57km make an invitation. The Giro needs a star rider each year, were these days included to tempt him? Only now the Tour is alluring with two flat time trials totalling 71km to punish Pogačar. Could Evenepoel do both? Possibly but the double is not easy for anyone and, as suggested here as a hypothesis, harder still for Evenepoel as he can drop to his climbing weight like a boxer for a bout but holding it for three months between May and July maybe too much. If RCS really want to invite Evenepoel perhaps the Monza to Milan TT needs to become Monza-Milan-Monza? Maybe Lipowitz goes for it?
One rider clearly fascinated by Giro is Paul Seixas. But next year is tied up with his contract, stay at Decathlon and he and the team can plan for the future including a Giro bid next year; sign elsewhere for 2028 and his last year with the Decathletes could see him obliged to the ride the Tour, hardly a punishment but a likely outcome.
Several teams have multiple leaders, it’s likely Felix Gall rides the Giro again especially as the Tour’s TTs look worse for him; is it back to the Giro for Antonio Tiberi after a discreet Tour or does Jacob Omrzel get first say and a chance to start in Slovenia? At Red Bull could Lorenzo Finn start; and is Giulio Pellizzari likely to come back for another go, probably as few time trial kilometres helps. UAE could see João Almeida restart his grand tour ambitions, but does Isaac del Toro now get priority? And so on, a vacuum into which we can only speculate. One certainty is that Tadej Pogačar won’t ride. This fact will inform some decisions in the coming weeks.