Hungary will stage first three stages of 2020 Giro d'Italia

Italian race organizers RCS confirm the first three stages of next year's Giro d'Italia will be hosted in Hungary

The Giro starts on Saturday, May 9th, 2020 with a 9.5km individual time-trial on the streets of the capital Budapest with a slightly uphill finish of 4%, starting from Heroes’ Square (UNESCO World Heritage).

The second stage is 193 km from capital Budapest, north west to the main city of Gyor.

The third stage is 197km and starts in the city of Szekesfeherva, along the Lake Balaton, and heads south west  to Nagykanizsa, a bunch sprint is expected.

It will be the 14th time that the Giro has started outside Italy, last year it started in Jerusalem the first time a Grand Tour started outside Europe.

Stage 1 – Budapest ITT – 9.5km

Stage 1’s ITT within the city of Budapest is flat in the first part and slightly uphill in the finale. The route starts from Heroes’ Square (Hosök tere) and continues along the Danube and the Parliament. After leaving the Danube the route enters into the old city. Starting in Clark Ádám Tér, the final ascent of about 1.5km (at around 4%) will see the GPM award ahead of the finish in the Castle district.

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Stage 2  – Budapest – Gyor – 193km

From the start at Heroes’ Square in Budapest, the route reaches the Danube via the short and easy ascent of Svábvár. The course continues along the Magyar plain with a succession of easy undulations up to the short climb – with slopes in double figures – of Pannonhalma (site of a famous abbey), 22km from the finish.

The route then arrives in Györ with a finish on the city boulevards for a probable sprint.

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Stage 3 – Szekesfehervar – Nagykanizsa – 197km

A practically flat stage with slight, but mild, undulations along the entire route. Much of the stage runs alongside Lake Balaton with some deviations inland in Veszprém and Héviz. The route then continues on flat terrain to approach the city of Nagykanizsa until the very likely bunch gallop.

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