2021 Giro Route Rumours

[Fyr3]

Not sure whether this was mentioned earlier in the forum but allegedly the Grande Partenza will be in Turin:

Giro 2021: Route and stages

Egan Bernal won the 104th edition of the Giro d’Italia ahead of Damiano Caruso and Simon Yates. As virtually always, most high altitude races were packed i

www.cyclingstage.com

They don't provide an actual source themselves however.

 

[Eshnar]

yeah it was already mentioned long ago, but it's not official yet.
Recently we got very little rumours, which makes me (and everyone else really) think that the official presentation, that was originally due to mid January, is gonna be postponed by quite a lot.

 

[Fyr3]

Yeah the Vuelta one has been dead for a while too. They were meant to announce in December

 

[Gigs_98]

Yeah the Vuelta one has been dead for a while too. They were meant to announce in December

If they stick to that plan that's really bad news.

 

[yaco]

The Vuelta was always to be announced in February after the Giro announcement in January.

 

[Fyr3]

oh well then the info wasn't up to date until recently on cycling stage, it used to say December but now it just says it hasn't been revealed yet.

Something caught my eye I was for some reason getting a recommended article for the route of the 1967 edition of the Giro? Anyways, in that edition they transferred from Naples to Palermo without a rest day as far as I can tell, which I thought was unrealistic but having looked it seems to be a 1 hour flight with a little bit of travel from the airport in Sicily to the actual town itself. Is it possible then, for the race to head south and transfer to Sicily before the rest day, then head back up in the second week before the final week in the Alps etc. Or something similar (I again assume Turin start here.) I haven't looked in detail at the towns and cities rumoured so I don't know if this would even fit in to what we currently know / think we know.

Edit just looked back again, there is only one rest day in that race but still?

 

[Max Rockatansky]

Something caught my eye I was for some reason getting a recommended article for the route of the 1967 edition of the Giro? Anyways, in that edition they transferred from Naples to Palermo without a rest day as far as I can tell, which I thought was unrealistic but having looked it seems to be a 1 hour flight with a little bit of travel from the airport in Sicily to the actual town itself. Is it possible then, for the race to head south and transfer to Sicily before the rest day, then head back up in the second week before the final week in the Alps etc. Or something similar (I again assume Turin start here.) I haven't looked in detail at the towns and cities rumoured so I don't know if this would even fit in to what we currently know / think we know.

My guess is that they took the ferry in 1967. It's around 11 or 12 hours and they had a very short stage the next day in Palermo. Only 63k. Today with all the staff and so much more vehicles in the peloton it's almost impossible to do things like this.

 

[Fyr3]

Yeah you're right they took overnight ferry

 

[Eshnar]

Some small updates:

• Abruzzo will have "more than one stage", with one being openly said to finish in Campo Felice, above Rocca di Cambio, with 1-2 final km on sterrato at 10%. This should be stage 9.
• It appears that Tuscany will be traversed on May 18-19, which would be stages 10 and 11. The inclusion of Strade Bianche seems to be confirmed, but it's still unclear where the stages will finish.
• If the dates are correct, AND if the Piedmont start is confirmed (which at the moment is still not), it would mean the route would likely go south along the Adriatic and then go back north on the other side of the peninsula. So, Mantova and Ravenna stages would happen in the first week.

 

[Eshnar]

The Grande Partenza will be presented next week

https://twitter.com/x/status/1349030880719687681

View: https://twitter.com/giroditalia/status/1349030880719687681

 

[Kyllingen86]

If Campo Felice is in how do you see the possibility of Blockhaus?

 

[Eshnar]

If Campo Felice is in how do you see the possibility of Blockhaus?

very low

 

[Kyllingen86]

Well I am not surprised by that. Any believable rumor about the other stage finishing within Abruzzo?

I tried to google Campo Felice but failed to find a proper profile of the climb. 1-2 km of sterrato sounds nice but what about the rest of the climb?

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Well I am not surprised by that. Any believable rumor about the other stage finishing within Abruzzo?

I tried to google Campo Felice but failed to find a proper profile of the climb. 1-2 km of sterrato sounds nice but what about the rest of the climb?

Probably the same climb as used in the 2012 Rocca di Cambio stage so nothing special.

 

[Eshnar]

Well I am not surprised by that. Any believable rumor about the other stage finishing within Abruzzo?

I tried to google Campo Felice but failed to find a proper profile of the climb. 1-2 km of sterrato sounds nice but what about the rest of the climb?

Probably the same climb as used in the 2012 Rocca di Cambio stage so nothing special.

exactly.
Yesterday we got the news that Foggia should host the finish of stage 8, and be the southernmost point of the race. That means the Abruzzo stages should come first. I imagine something like this:

edit: Foggia would be stage start, not finish.

 

[Eshnar]

A local article today claims the Friulian stages (Zoncolan and Gorizia) are happening in this order on May 22 - 23, which makes them stages 14 and 15. The same article says the next day they will start from Pordenone and head into the Dolomites (hinting at the Tre Cime). I doubt they won't have a rest day after stage 15, but regardless, this fixes a bit of the route. The route will be coming from the Veneto region, and I'm going out on a limb and guess stage 13 will be an ITT in or near Verona, possibly from Desenzano del Garda, which was rumoured a while ago and now it would make sense. Only the third week is uncharted territory. Stuff has to be happening in Trentino and Valtellina, but we don't have enough rumours there to get a good idea.

(EDIT: Forgot to mention, Zoncolan from Sutrio, like in 2003)

This is a new (hopefully good) sketch:
1 Torino ITT
2 Santena - Verbania
3 Arona - Alessandria??
4 Piacenza?? - Ravenna
5 Rimini?? - Perugia??
6 Foligno?? - Monte Compatri
7 ??? - somewhere towards Foggia
8 Foggia - Castel di Sangro?
9 L'Aquila - Campo Felice
RIPOSO
10 ??? - Montalcino
11 Siena - Florence area?
12 ??? - Mantova
13 Desenzano - Verona ITT
14 Treviso?? - Zoncolan
15 Grado - Gorizia
RIPOSO (here or after stage 16)
16 Pordenone - Cortina or Tre Cime di Lavaredo
17 -- 20 ??? (Montespluga??? Montecampione??? Stelvio??? Who knows)
21 Milano ITT

 

[Mayomaniac]

A local article today claims the Friulian stages (Zoncolan and Gorizia) are happening in this order on May 22 - 23, which makes them stages 14 and 15. The same article says the next day they will start from Pordenone and head into the Dolomites (hinting at the Tre Cime). I doubt they won't have a rest day after stage 15, but regardless, this fixes a bit of the route. The route will be coming from the Veneto region, and I'm going out on a limb and guess stage 13 will be an ITT in or near Verona, possibly from Desenzano del Garda, which was rumoured a while ago and now it would make sense. Only the third week is uncharted territory. Stuff has to be happening in Trentino and Valtellina, but we don't have enough rumours there to get a good idea.

(EDIT: Forgot to mention, Zoncolan from Sutrio, like in 2003)

This is a new (hopefully good) sketch:
1 Torino ITT
2 Santena - Verbania
3 Arona - Alessandria??
4 Piacenza?? - Ravenna
5 Rimini?? - Perugia??
6 Foligno?? - Monte Compatri
7 ??? - somewhere towards Foggia
8 Foggia - Castel di Sangro?
9 L'Aquila - Campo Felice
RIPOSO
10 ??? - Montalcino
11 Siena - Florence area?
12 ??? - Mantova
13 Desenzano - Verona ITT
14 Treviso?? - Zoncolan
15 Grado - Gorizia
RIPOSO (here or after stage 16)
16 Pordenone - Cortina or Tre Cime di Lavaredo
17 -- 20 ??? (Montespluga??? Montecampione??? Stelvio??? Who knows)
21 Milano ITT

I wouldn't mind Zoncolan from Priola, Cainero has been pushing for that one for a few years now.

 

[OlavEH]

1 Torino ITT
2 Santena - Verbania
3 Arona - Alessandria??
4 Piacenza?? - Ravenna
5 Rimini?? - Perugia??
6 Foligno?? - Monte Compatri
7 ??? - somewhere towards Foggia
8 Foggia - Castel di Sangro?

What kind of profiles could we be talking about on these stages? I guess stage 3, 4 and 7 would be mostly flat and typical sprinter's stages? Any possible tough hilly stages here?

 

[Nirvana]

Thank god the Zoncolan isn't on the last saturday killing the action until 5 kms to go. Anyway i wonder if we'll ever see it used as a pass with an easier climb afterwards, that's the only way to see it working for more long(ish) range action.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

What kind of profiles could we be talking about on these stages? I guess stage 3, 4 and 7 would be mostly flat and typical sprinter's stages? Any possible tough hilly stages here?

Monte Compatri pretty much has to be a tough HTF, and there are plenty of muritos in the Castelli Romani to put before it if the stage length allows for it. Perugia also can't be a flat stage if it's actually in.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Thank god the Zoncolan isn't on the last saturday killing the action until 5 kms to go. Anyway i wonder if we'll ever see it used as a pass with an easier climb afterwards, that's the only way to see it working for more long(ish) range action.

The problem is that you'd have limited support on the descent because only a few motobikes go up the climb. The descent towards Sutrio is totally fine, the first 3km are steep, but not too technical or dangerous and the rest is on a normal road.
You could have it as a pass at the start of a stage and have the teamcars wait 3km down on the descent to Sutrio were the big ski station is, but other than that the limited support on the descent would be the main problem. Having another set of teammcars wait there at the end of the stage would also mean that the teams would need more teamcars and more people on them then usual.

 

[OlavEH]

Monte Compatri pretty much has to be a tough HTF, and there are plenty of muritos in the Castelli Romani to put before it if the stage length allows for it. Perugia also can't be a flat stage if it's actually in.

Yep, I checked the are around Monte Compatri now. It's possible to create a really good HTF there. For example a 4,5 km, 8 % climb to Rocca Priora, descend for 8-9 km and then ascend towards Compatri from north/northeast, a 2 km, 9 % climb.

 

[Eshnar]

What kind of profiles could we be talking about on these stages? I guess stage 3, 4 and 7 would be mostly flat and typical sprinter's stages? Any possible tough hilly stages here?

none of them is particularly reliable, but in case they do happen...
Verbania hilly finish
Alessandria flattish
Ravenna pan flat
Perugia hilly finish
Monte Compatri hilly finish
near Foggia flattish
Castel Di Sangro hilly
Campo Felice MTF

The problem is that you'd have limited support on the descent because only a few motobikes go up the climb. The descent towards Sutrio is totally fine, the first 3km are steep, but not too technical or dangerous and the rest is on a normal road.
You could have it as a pass at the start of a stage and have the teamcars wait 3km down on the descent to Sutrio were the big ski station is, but other than that the limited support on the descent would be the main problem. Having another set of teammcars wait there at the end of the stage would also mean that the teams would need more teamcars and more people on them then usual.

unfortunately the fact that ambulances can't follow the peloton for the first 3 km is a big problem.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Zoncolan on the second last Saturday, immediately after an ITT, sounds like perfect parcours pacing.

 

[Eshnar]

Zoncolan on the second last Saturday, immediately after an ITT, sounds like perfect parcours pacing.

It's still just little more than wishful thinking though.
Some more news: The Campo Felice stage will start from Castel di Sangrio, while the following stage will start from L'Aquila (I assume after a rest day). It seems the 2nd week will go to the Adriatic, so pretty much the opposite of what I wrote earlier. It is then again possible that the previously rumoured Perugia ITT is in. Also, local newspapers keep saying stage 16 will happen before the rest day, and not after. If that's the case, I expect a big stage 17.

1 Torino ITT
2 Santena - Verbania
3 Arona - Alessandria??
4 ??? - Florence area
5 ??? - Montalcino
6 ??? - Monte Compatri
7 ??? - somewhere towards Foggia
8 Foggia - ???
9 Castel di Sangro - Campo Felice
REST
10 L'Aquila - Ascoli?
11 Foligno - Perugia ITT (OR ??? - Ravenna)
12 ??? - Ravenna (OR Ravenna - Mantova)
13 Ravenna - Mantova (OR Desenzano - Verona ITT)
14 Treviso?? - Zoncolan
15 Grado - Gorizia
16 Pordenone - Cortina or Tre Cime di Lavaredo
REST
17 -- 20 ??? (Montespluga??? Montecampione??? Stelvio??? Who knows)
21 Milano ITT