Saturday 9 May – TTT Riviera dei Fiori 18km approx.
The opening stage will be the first Grand Tour stage to take place solely on cycle paths. Teams will race along the Riviera dei Fiori cycle path, which is built on a former coastal rail route, and gives panoramic views of the Mediterranean coast. Its rolling hills will create a fast race. Both ends of the course will be familiar to many riders; the annual Cipressa climb begins each March from San Lorenzo al Mare; and the stage’s finish line is also used by the Milan-San Remo spring classic route, which also begins in March.
Sunday 10 May – Albenga – Genoa 150km approx. – sprinters’ stage
This stage has been created to deliver an exciting sprint finish in Genoa, Liguria’s capital city. The course will run for 120km alongside the Riviera di Ponente before entering the historic, UNESCO World Heritage city, where riders will race four loops of a 7.5km circuit. The race will be held on the Aurelia road and in the valleys of the Savona and Genoa provinces. The organizers have also added a climb to Stella, birthplace of Sandro Pertini, one of Italy’s most beloved presidents and first recipient of the UN’s Otto Hahn Peace Medal.
Major areas crossed: Albenga, Finale Ligure, Savona, Stella, Varazze, Voltri, Genoa
Monday 11 May – Chiavari – La Spezia 185km approx. – GC contenders stage
Stage three will be the first to test the riders and identify the GC contenders. Riders will face a series of hills between the coast and the inland areas of Levante Ligure. The race will be held on the Cinque Terre road, which was hit hard by torrential storms in 2012. The route has been designed as a relatively gentle introduction to the mountain stages, with a continuous series of climbs and descents to La Spezia. There a short city circuit will be raced before the reaching its climax on the top of the Biassa climb. Riders expected to begin their attack 10km before the finish line.
Major areas crossed: Chiavari, Rapallo, Santa Margherita Ligure, Sestri Levante, Carro, Levanto, the Cinque Terre, La Spezia.
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This is way cool! Especially for us as we enjoy riding the pista ciclabile out of Sanremo on the final day of our Primavera tour while enjoying the coastal road used by Milano-Sanremo to get there. Next, we enjoy a big piece of the road through the Cinque Terre as part of our Vineyards to the Sea itinerary. We can't wait to see what RCS will come up with for the mountain stages.
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