2014 Giro d'Italia Presentation

The unveiling of the 97th Giro d’Italia took place this afternoon at the Ice Palace in central Milan.

With no less than nine uphill finishes spread over a 3,449.9 kilometre itinerary which starts in Belfast on Friday 9 May 2014 and finishes in Trieste on Sunday 1 June 2014, the 2014 Giro d’Italia promises to be a race for climbers.

After two opening stages starting and finishing in the capital of Northern Ireland, the peloton departs Armagh for a symbolic border crossing into the Irish Republic en route to the stage finish in Dublin. After three historic stages in Ireland, a vast air bridge will transfer the riders, race staff and event infrastructure to Italy’s South East, where the race recommences with stage four, from Giovinazzo to Bari.

The route then arcs clockwise across Italy, through the Apennines, to the North West of the peninsula, before heading eastwards to take on the monumental climbs of the Italian Alps and Dolomites. The itinerary of mountains reads like a roll call of classic Italian climbs, including Oropa, Montecampione, Val Martello/Martelltal (via the Passo dello Stelvio – this year’s Cima Coppi, the highest point of the race itinerary; on 16th stage), Monte Grappa and Monte Zoncolan. Lesser-known climbs like Sestola, Montecopiolo and the Rifugio Panarotta in Valsugana, and the short, steep ramps that lead up to Viggiano and Montecassino, hold the potential for more, spectacular racing.

Six flat finishes will entice the sprinters, and a further four transitional stages – including stage 11, with a technical, 21km-descent from the intriguingly-named Naso di Gatto or Cat’s Nose, down into the town of Savona – complete the race itinerary.

94.9km of the 2014 Giro are dedicated to time trials. Hostilities open on Friday 9 May with a 21.7km team time trial around Belfast. At the midpoint of the race, the long individual time trial from Barbaresco to Barolo (stage 12, 46.4km) includes a categorised climb in the final 10 kilometres. Then, on the last stage but three, a grueling, 26.8km mountain time trial takes in the 19.3km climb up to Cima Grappa (Bassano del Grappa – Cima Grappa/Crespano del Grappa).

After the final, grueling mountain finish atop the forbidding Monte Zoncolan, the peloton will race into the stunning city of Trieste, where the 97th Giro d’Italia will draw to its dramatic close.

The stages:
enerdì 9 maggio - 1° tappa: Belfast (cronosquadre) 21,7 km
Sabato 10 maggio - 2° tappa: Belfast – Belfast 218 km
Domenica 11 maggio - 3° tappa: Armagh – Dublino 187 km
Lunedì 12 maggio - Riposo
Martedì 13 maggio - 4° tappa: Giovinazzo - Bari 121 km
Mercoledì 14 maggio - 5° tappa: Taranto - Viggiano 200 km
Giovedì 15 maggio - 6° tappa: Sassano – Montecassino 247 km
Venerdì 16 maggio - 7° tappa: Frosinone – Foligno 214 km
Sabato 17 maggio - 8° tappa: Foligno – Montecopiolo 174 km
Domenica 18 maggio - 9° tappa: Lugo di Romagna – Sestola/Passo del Lupo 174 km
Lunedì 19 maggio - Riposo
Martedì 20 maggio - 10° tappa: Modena – Salsomaggiore Terme 184 km
Mercoledì 21 maggio - 11° tappa: Collecchio – Savona 249 km
Giovedì 22 maggio - 12° tappa: Barbaresco – Barolo (cronometro individuale) 46,4 km
Venerdì 23 maggio - 13° tappa: Fossano – Rivarolo Canavese 158 km
Sabato 24 maggio - 14° tappa: Agliè – Oropa 162 km
Domenica 25 maggio - 15° tappa: Valdengo – Plan di Montecampione 217 km
Lunedì 26 maggio - Riposo
Martedì 27 maggio - 16° tappa: Ponte di Legno – Val Martello 139 km
Mercoledì 28 maggio - 17° tappa: Sarnonico – Vittorio Veneto 204 km
Giovedì 29 maggio - 18° tappa: Belluno – Rifugio Panarotta 171 km
Venerdì 30 maggio - 19° tappa: Bassano – Cima Grappa (cronoscalata) 26,8 km
Sabato 31 maggio - 20° tappa: Maniago – Monte Zoncolan 167 km
Domenica 1 giugno - 21° tappa: Gemona del Friuli – Trieste 169 km

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