Giro 2013 rumours

[Ferminal]

150km monster?

 

[Eshnar]

150km monster?

so they say

 

[Ferminal]

Still longer than the Tour queenstage, I guess.

 

[auscyclefan94]

I am looking forward to this.

 

[Eshnar]

Still longer than the Tour queenstage, I guess.

It won't be the queen stage luckily

 

[roundabout]

Too much easy terrain between big climbs

 

[Eshnar]

Too much easy terrain between big climbs

Indeed. Moncenisio will be just a warm up.

 

[Eshnar]

There's a subtle rumour about the 2013 Giro NOT ending in Milan.
If so, the final stage should be held in Venice (it would be a ITT either way).
That would mean the western Alps in the second week and the dolomites (or surroundings) in the third. A finish in Venice would set things up perfectly for a final MTF on Zoncolan (or one of those climbs near it).
About the queen stage, they say it will involve Gavia, but it's still not clear if that will be a MTF or not. Seeing this year's Giro Bio it's likely it will be a MTF, though.

 

[Eshnar]

another rumour, and this one is way more reliable: the MTF in Friuli will be at Malghe Del Montasio
Here's the article of a local newspaper
This is the climb:

This rumour is consistent with the old rumour about the stage start from Tarvisio, which would be the next stage. According to the same article, this stage should be at the end of the second week. So I guess the western Alps will be in the third week and then seems highly unlikely a finish in Venice.
The second week should look like this then:

??? - Vicenza [flat?]
Vicenza ITT [Hilly]
Vicenza - Erto[Hilly]
??? - Malghe Del Montasio [MTF]
Tarvisio - Bad Kleinkircheim (or somewhere near) [MTF]

Montasio is quite a good climb for a first taste of the Alps. Only issue is that cannot be properly connected with other climbs. There's a long valley.

 

[Eshnar]

Oh, one last thing: yesterday the Giro tweeted a good pic of the Colle Delle Finestre... And if we trust the stage to Galibier, which would start from Bardonecchia...

 

[roundabout]

Does it mean that it's Finestre plus Sestriere again? Or am I being dense here?

 

[Eshnar]

Does it mean that it's Finestre plus Sestriere again? Or am I being dense here?

Let's put it this way: Finestre + Sestriere, the day before Galibier, isn't very attractive (imho). But I do hope they put Finestre someway. The best option would be a descent finish straight after Finestre.
Another interesting thing is that it's very unlikely the Galibier will be stage 20. So I wonder where the final showdown will be.

 

[roundabout]

Aha, I see your point.

Any rumors about difficult stages outside of the Alps?

 

[Eshnar]

Aha, I see your point.

Any rumors about difficult stages outside of the Alps?

Only rumour I heard was a while ago (so I can't guarantee it's reliable now) about a hard stage finish in Montecopiolo, after the hyper-famous Carpegna.
Nothing more. The first week should be very hilly, though.

 

[Ferminal]

Are we absolutely certain about Galibier though?

Bardonecchia - Sestriere the LONG way... anything is better than 2011 Finestre.

 

[roundabout]

Carpegna would be nice. Hilly stages are ok too, but I would prefer at least a possibility of something happening in the mountains in the first 10 days or so.

 

[Eshnar]

Are we absolutely certain about Galibier though?

Of course not. But it's a strong rumour.
Btw, what you mean by the long way?

 

[Eshnar]

Carpegna would be nice. Hilly stages are ok too, but I would prefer at least a possibility of something happening in the mountains in the first 10 days or so.

well there is a possibility.

 

[Ferminal]

Btw, what you mean by the long way?

Lautaret/Galibier/Mont Cenis before Finestre.

 

[roundabout]

That would be what, 240+km to go from A to B that are 35km or so apart?

Even ASO hadn't thought of that.

 

[Eshnar]

Lautaret/Galibier/Mont Cenis before Finestre.

agreed. Shall we send a mail to RCS?

 

[Eshnar]

The same newspaper today says there will be 2 stage starts and 2 finishes in Friuli: Cordenons and Cave Del Predil (starts); Vajont (Erto) and Montasio (finishes)

Not sure about the order, but if we still trust the Austrian thing, then there's only one solution:
Vicenza(?) - Vajont
Cordenons - Montasio
Cave Del Predil - Austria

 

[Eshnar]

As I did last year, I'll begin posting a provisional route.
DISCLAIMER: It's still too early to trust any of these stages. Pleas do not rely too much on them.

The more stars a stage has, the more likely it is.
*: Wild guess
**: Sound guess
***: Weak/Old Rumour
****: Strong/Recent Rumour
*****: Almost Sure

1 Napoli - Napoli [flat] ****
2 Ischia TTT ****
3 ??? - ???
4 ??? - ???
5 ??? - ???
6 ??? - ???
REST (huge transfer to Firenze)
7 Firenze - Firenze [Worlds test] ****
8 Firenze - Montecopiolo [Mountain] ***
9 ??? - Parma [flat] **
10 Parma - Vicenza [flat] ****
11 Vicenza ITT ****
12 Vicenza(?) - Vajont [hilly] ****
13 Cordenons - Malghe Del Montasio [MTF] ****
14 Cave Del Predil - Bad Kleinkirchheim [MTF] ***
15 Lienz? - Val Senales [MTF] ***
16 ??? - Gavia [MTF] ***
REST
17 ??? - Nivolet [MTF] ***
18 Ivrea - Susa [flat] *
19 Bardonecchia - Galibier [MTF] ****
20 ??? - Sestriere [MTF] *
21 Milano ITT **

NOTE: There are WAY too many MTFs. Especially in the second week, some of them will certainly be dropped. In order to keep the Austrian stage I had to put the Gavia stage (supposedly queen stage) on a Monday... very unlikely.

 

[Michele]

According to Rai's Radiocorsa, Wiggins is rumored to be riding Giro in 2013.

 

[Eshnar]

According to Rai's Radiocorsa, Wiggins is rumored to be riding Giro in 2013.

I saw that too... Personally I don't believe it.