Gran Fondo Florida, March 17, 2024 - FIND OUT MORE!
United States | Southeast | Virginia >> The Fight for Magila Rosa - the 99th Giro dItalia

The Fight for Maglia Rosa, the 99th Giro d'Italia

The Spring Classics have come to end. It's time to start looking forward to the Grand Tours. The 99th edition of the Giro d'Italia promises to be another exciting edition. The race will start in the Netherlands this Friday May 6 and end in Milan after 2,102 miles and 21 days of racing. We examine the route, the key stages and the favorites in the fight for the pink jersey - Maglia Rosa.

 

Netherlands Start

The 2016 Giro will open with a 6 mile (9.8km) time trial in Apeldoorn, Netherland and two fairly flat stages ideal for the spinters. The overall General Classification (GC) riders will be looking to do the best TT to avoid any time gaps.

Into Italy

A rest day follows to allow the peleton to transfer to southern Italy. With the race’s first Italian stage a rolling affair to Praia a Mare. The first week in Italy contains more stages with opportunities for the sprinters and breakaways. No doubt team BMC, without a leader, will target these stages relentlessly. The GC riders and their teams will need to be wary.
 
Stage six to Roccaraso, provides the first summit finish, a 5.75 mile (9.25km) ascent with a 4.4 per cent average gradient. Could this see any attack by one of the GC riders, testing the legs of his key rivals?

First Key GC Stage

Stage 9 before the second rest day, will be a long, hard individual time trial in the Chianti vineyards.This could be the first real opportunity for GC riders to start opening up time gaps in the fight for pink, the Maglia Rosa.

The Mountains

Stage 14 to the mountain ski town of Corvara is the first real Mountain Stage and the classic Dolomitic Queen Stage that will use the same roads the Maratona Dolomites Gran Fondo route reflects. This stage will be one to watch!

Third Time Trial

Stage 15 is the third time trial of 10.8 km up to Alpe di Siusi. GC riders will want to open up further gaps on their rivals, even if it's only seconds.

Into France 

The peloton continues west through the Alps and into France. Stage 19 which features the highest climb of the race – Colle dell’Agnello, on the Italian / French border, topping out at 2,744m. A climb which has featured in both the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, the ascent from the Italian side is 14 miles (22.4 km) in length with a punishing average gradient of 6.5 per cent, the upper slopes a constant 10%. Then onto the uphill finish to Risoul, an 8 mile (12.6km) climb, with an average gradient of 6.9 per cent, having featured in the 2014 Tour de France.
 
This will be a big day for the whole peleton and GC riders - their teams will exploit any weaknesses in their rivals on the slopes of these high Mountain passes. This stage will be one to watch!
 
Stage 20 sees the peleton ascend the Col De Vars (2,108m) and the Col de la Bonette. This Bonette is the the highest paved road in Europe, if you go round the 2km small "Cime". The peleton won't, just up and over at a whopping 2,715m (instead of the full 2,802m) back into Italy for the final climb of the Colle Della Lombarda.
 
If there is any contention for the Magila Rosa at this stage, it could be an epic battle.
 
Will the fight for the Pink Jersey already be won?

The GC Favorites

The peloton will not include 2015 champion Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) as he targets the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana in his final season or Chris Froome (Team Sky).
 
This year’s Giro could be one of the most competitive in recent years. Vincenzo Nibali (Astana), Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), and Mikel Landa (Sky) are race favorites.

Behind them are: Rafal Majka (Tinkoff), Rigoberto Urán (Cannondale), Esteban Chaves (Orica – GreenEdge), Rein Taaramae and Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha), 2012 winner Ryder Hesjedal (Trek – Segafredo), and Jean-Christophe Péraud and Domenico Pozzovivo (Ag2r La Mondiale).

While those teams and riders will be aiming to disrupt the race, especially BMC, the tone of the Giro should evolve around the three strongest riders with the three strongest teams. The Erratic weather, steep climbs and varied terrain across Italy and the day-in, day-out stresses of racing add up to make the Giro one of the most unpredictable races of the season.
 
Who will win the fight for Maglia Rosa - the Pink Jersey?

Maglia Rosso Passione - The red points jersey for Sprints

The headliners are André Greipel (Lotto – Soudal) and Marcel Kittel (Etixx – Quick-Step), and other riders such as Caleb Ewan (Orica – GreenEdge) and Arnaud Démare (FDJ) will sprint for victory, as will Italians Elia Viviani (Sky), Sacha Modolo (Lampre – Merida), and Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek – Segafredo).

Maglia Verde - The green Points Jersey for KOM. 

The headliners are Mikel Landa, Steven Kruijswijk , Stefano Pirazzi, Vincenzo Nibali , Giovanni Visconti 

Maglia Bianca - The white Young Riders jersey

The headliners are Davide Formolo, Sebastian Henao, Carlos Verona.

Handy Giro d’Italia Stage Card

Date Stage Notes Type Distance
May 6 Stage 1: Apeldoorn - Apeldoorn  GC Time Trial 6 miles - 9.8 km
May 7 Stage 2: Arnhem - Nijmegen Sprinters Flat  118 miles - 190 km
May 8 Stage 3: Nijmegen - Arnhem  Sprinters Flat  118 miles - 190 km
May 9 Rest day   Rest day  
May 10 Stage 4: Catanzaro - Praia a Mare  Breakaway/Sprinters Medium-mountain stage 119 miles - 200 km
May 11 Stage 5: Praia a Mare - Benevento  Sprinters Hilly stage 145 miles - 233 km
May 12 Stage 6: Ponte - Roccaraso (Aremogna) Mountain Top Finish Medium-mountain stage 102 miles - 157 km
May 13 Stage 7: Sulmona - Foligno Sprinters Hilly stage 130 miles - 211 km
May 14 Stage 8: Foligno - Arezzo  Breakaway Medium-mountain stage 116 miles - 186 km
May 15 Stage 9: Radda – Greve (Chianti) GC Time Trial 25 miles - 40.5 km
May 16 Rest day      
May 17 Stage 10: Campi Bisenzio -Sestola Mountain Top Finish,Breakaway Medium-mountain stage 134 miles - 219 km
May 18 Stage 11: Modena - Asolo Sprinters Medium-mountain stage 141 miles - 227 km
May 19 Stage 12: Noale - Bibione Sprinters Flat  104 miles - 168 km
May 20 Stage 13: Palmanova - Cividale del Friuli Cividale del Friuli Gran Fondo  Medium-mountain stage 105 miles - 170 km
May 21 Stage 14: Alpago (Farra) - Corvara Maratona Dolomities Gran Fondo Mountain stage 130 miles - 210 km
May 22 Stage 15: Castelrotto - Alpe di Siusi GC Time Trial 6.7 miles - 10.8 km
May 23 Rest day      
May 24 Stage 16: Bressanone - Andalo  Mountain Top Finish,Breakaway Medium-mountain stage 82 miles - 132 km
May 25 Stage 17: Molveno - Cassano d-Adda  Sprinters Flat 122 miles - 196 km
May 26 Stage 18: Muggi - Pinerolo  Sprinters Medium-mountain stage 152 miles - 244 km
May 27 Stage 19: Pinerolo - Risoul  GC, Mountain Top Finish Mountain stage 100 miles - 162 km
May 28
Stage 20: Guillestre - Sant-Anna di Vinadio
GC,Mountain Top Finish Mountain stage 83 miles - 134 km
May 29 Stage 21: Cuneo – Torino   Flat stage 91 miles - 150 km
         
  Totals     2,102 miles - 3,383 km

 

 

The 2016 Giro dItalia Stages2016 Giro dItalia Stage MapStage 1: Apeldoorn - Apeldoorn - May 6Stage 2: Arnhem - Nijmegen - May 7Stage 3: Nijmegen - Arnhem - May 8Stage 4: Catanzaro - Praia a Mare - May 10Stage 5: Praia a Mare - Benevento - May 11Stage 6: Ponte - Roccaraso - May 12Stage 7: Sulmona - Foligno - May 13Stage 8: Foligno - Arezzo - May 14Stage 9: Radda – Greve (Chianti) - May 15Stage 10: Campi Bisenzio -Sestola - May 17Stage 11: Modena - Asolo - May 18Stage 12: Noale - Bibione - May 19Stage 13: Palmanova - Cividale del Friuli - May 20Stage 14: Alpago (Farra) - Corvara - May 21Stage 15: Castelrotto - Alpe di Siusi - May 22Stage 16: Bressanone - Andalo - May 24Stage 17: Molveno - Cassano d-Adda - May 25Stage 18: Muggi - Pinerolo - May 26Stage 19: Pinerolo - Risoul - May 27Stage 20: Guillestre - Sant-Anna di Vinadio - May  28Stage 21: Cuneo – Torino - May 29