The Giro reaches the Alps and we’re in for a week climbing with a variety of uphill finishes. Today doesn’t reach high altitude, instead it compensates with steep gradients and scenery, passing through the Zenga Oasis park before the finish at the Oropa Sancturary.
Giro d’Italia
Giro Stage 13 Preview
A short transition stage to take the race to the foot of the Alps only without the foothills. It’s flat and one of the last chances for the sprinters.
Predictable? Yes that’s why today’s preview also includes a tale about the Calabrian mafia plus the the nearby Colle del Nivolet, the highest mountain pass in Europe you’ve probably never heard of.
Giro Stage 12 Preview
So far the “fight for pink” has been a group hug with riders marking each other. Exclude Domenico Pozzovivo’s 30 second raid to Sestola last Sunday and most of the time gaps on GC have been created when the riders weren’t racing together, whether in the team time trial or following the Montecassino crash. All change today as riders are forced to show their form.
Giro Stage 11 Preview
A lot of riders will have had today’s stage marked in their diaries for months. Too hilly for the sprinters and not decisive enough for the overall contenders. Perfect for a breakaway.
Giro Stage 10 Preview
Stage 10, we’re in to double digits now. Today’s stage is a mini gastronomic tour starting in the vinegar capital of Italy and including a ride straight through the city of Parma, city of hams, on to the small spa town of Salsomaggiore.
It could almost be a tourist spin. But it’s a stage for the sprinters even if that little bump at the end is perfect for a late attack.
Giro Stage 9 Preview
The second of two selective Apennine mountain stages, today’s stage has a different feel with wider, more accessible roads. Today should be easier.
Giro Stage 8 Preview
The first “reveal” of the race and one of two mountain stages in the under-rated Apennines mountain range, this 179km stage climbs Monte Carpegna first on one flank and then another with conclusive 13% ramps just before the finish line. Both are extremely difficult climbs with narrow roads and double-digit gradients. This is no medium mountain prelude to the Alps.
Giro Stage 7 Preview
A day for the sprinters with an outside chance for a breakaway? That’s how it seems but yesterday saw a linear stage with a short summit finish offer drama, ejection and rejection.
Giro Prizes for All
Race leadership is pink,
Mountains are blue,
Sprints are red,
But as for the rest, I haven’t got a clue
That’s probably how many feel with the Giro prizes. You can probably understand the main jerseys but the race offers an enormous range of prizes every day with special awards for breakaways and even sporting fair play. Do you know your team prize from your Superteam?
This year also sees a new prize, the “Energy Prize” which has been dubbed by others as the kamikaze award. Plus all the cash prizes are listed from the Giro winner down to stages and the smaller awards.