Giro d'Italia Giro d'Italia 2025 Route: Speculation, Rumours and Announcements

[gavia88]

Giro routes getting worse, year after year.

I don't understand the comment, so fare rumours show a much better route than have been in years.

 

[ashhutch1997]

The rumoured route for next year is probably the best since 2019.

Don't get me wrong, 2019 had some fantasticly designed mountain stages, by my God the first week was tragic.

 

[Red Rick]

I don't understand the comment, so fare rumours show a much better route than have been in years.

The irony of a poster called Gavia saying this

 

[Froome]

The irony of a poster called Gavia saying this

The "ahahahah era" is infecting a lot of people.

 

[Red Rick]

Don't get me wrong, 2019 had some fantasticly designed mountain stages, by my God the first week was tragic.

The final stages after Mortirolo were all poor.

 

[JReed27]

I don't understand the comment, so fare rumours show a much better route than have been in years.

It is definitely better than recent years but its a long way from the 2015 and 2016 routes. For me stages 15,16, and 17 look like big missed opportunities compared to earlier rumours. If they were able to have Giau, Druscie as originally planned along with a proper mortirolo stage then this would be an all timer as the first 2 weeks look like they should be action packed while not overly favouring climbers.

 

[gavia88]

Well the final details will decide if it's normal, good or even a great route. I like routes were the people in charge offer possibilities to attack from far and take some risk that the stage will disappoint in the end. We seems to get quite some of those stages indeed. One major HC finish on the wrong spot in the route however can ruin those stages completely or the wrong order of stages. So yeah, a lot depends in that case on which side of the mortirolo they do (monno or monno via recta Contador). And if they put already something before Tonale. Or that they choose to make the stage before the Mortirolo the queenstage and the Mortirolo stage only a "soft" one.

People here already whining that it's horrible they skip the gavia are a bit to quick in their conclusion. If indeed we only get Tonale and normal Mortirolo from Monno, yes, very disappointing. But with the Contador variant I see lot's of possibilities for a very long final in that stage.

 

[ashhutch1997]

Well the final details will decide if it's normal, good or even a great route. I like routes were the people in charge offer possibilities to attack from far and take some risk that the stage will disappoint in the end. We seems to get quite some of those stages indeed. One major HC finish on the wrong spot in the route however can ruin those stages completely or the wrong order of stages. So yeah, a lot depends in that case on which side of the mortirolo they do (monno or monno via recta Contador). And if they put already something before Tonale. Or that they choose to make the stage before the Mortirolo the queenstage and the Mortirolo stage only a "soft" one.

People here already whining that it's horrible they skip the gavia are a bit to quick in their conclusion. If indeed we only get Tonale and normal Mortirolo from Monno, yes, very disappointing. But with the Contador variant I see lot's of possibilities for a very long final in that stage.

My problem is that it'll be the third time in a row they are using the Mortirolo from the wrong side.

 

[Red Rick]

Well the final details will decide if it's normal, good or even a great route. I like routes were the people in charge offer possibilities to attack from far and take some risk that the stage will disappoint in the end. We seems to get quite some of those stages indeed. One major HC finish on the wrong spot in the route however can ruin those stages completely or the wrong order of stages. So yeah, a lot depends in that case on which side of the mortirolo they do (monno or monno via recta Contador). And if they put already something before Tonale. Or that they choose to make the stage before the Mortirolo the queenstage and the Mortirolo stage only a "soft" one.

People here already whining that it's horrible they skip the gavia are a bit to quick in their conclusion. If indeed we only get Tonale and normal Mortirolo from Monno, yes, very disappointing. But with the Contador variant I see lot's of possibilities for a very long final in that stage.

Yes, the issue really does come down to nuances, and not the basic formulaic "hurr durr penultimate climb hard" stuff. Complaints about MTFs have generally been when they were all that mattered or or were backloaded in the 3rd week, not that they were there at all. Similarly, you can't just put a random HC climb cresting at 40km to go, follow it up with terrain that is very beneficial for a largery group, and treat it like a great long range attacking option.

Pradaccio at 80km to go isn't an attacking opportunity. Grappa at 50km to go with flat and a 4% climb after isn't really an attacking opportunity. Mortirolo, to go, even if you take Recta Contador, isn't even that greate of an opportunity.

In a similar way the 2019 Giro had a very poor first week with essentially not even a good medium mountain stage, then a really good section of mountain stages between stage 12 and 16 - and then a really poor finale with a random nothingburger medium mountain MTF and Monte Avena where Passo Manghen was way too far from the finish line.

 

[JReed27]

Pradaccio at 80km to go isn't an attacking opportunity. Grappa at 50km to go with flat and a 4% climb after isn't really an attacking opportunity. Mortirolo, to go, even if you take Recta Contador, isn't even that greate of an opportunity.

Pradaccio is nothing more than a publicity stunt that will only serve to dissapoint fans on what would normally be a fine medium mountain stage. Grappa stage looks really bad especially as it would supposedly be replacing a stage around cortina which would probably be a lot better, even with foza it wasn't great but with enego it stinks.
I'm convinced a good stage to bormio via the mortirolo exists, the valley road is deceptively hard (20km @2.5%) although not as hard as Aprica (13km @ 4%) so for it to work the stage would need to be really tough like >200km and >5000m+, it would need to take in a very difficult side of the mortirolo like Guspessa, Mazzo, or Recta Contador and it can't have an unnecesary 10km over Le Motte. None of these requirements seem to be matched in the rumoured route so my expectations are low.
I do really like the sound of the first 2 weeks and the final 2 mountain stages, and while they aren't perfect even the stages I have criticised here offer some opportunities for good racing even if they aren't perfect. So I'm still mostly positive on the route but this is a thread about routes and route design so I think it is fair we nitpick especially given the incredible roads Italy has to offer.

Monte Avena where Passo Manghen was way too far from the finish line.

I've always thought the should have done that stage in reverse going, Rolle-Manghen-Brocon(via Valmalene) before the final 2 climbs

 

[Red Rick]

Pradaccio is nothing more than a publicity stunt that will only serve to dissapoint fans on what would normally be a fine medium mountain stage. Grappa stage looks really bad especially as it would supposedly be replacing a stage around cortina which would probably be a lot better, even with foza it wasn't great but with enego it stinks.
I'm convinced a good stage to bormio via the mortirolo exists, the valley road is deceptively hard (20km @2.5%) although not as hard as Aprica (13km @ 4%) so for it to work the stage would need to be really tough like >200km and >5000m+, it would need to take in a very difficult side of the mortirolo like Guspessa, Mazzo, or Recta Contador and it can't have an unnecesary 10km over Le Motte. None of these requirements seem to be matched in the rumoured route so my expectations are low.
I do really like the sound of the first 2 weeks and the final 2 mountain stages, and while they aren't perfect even the stages I have criticised here offer some opportunities for good racing even if they aren't perfect. So I'm still mostly positive on the route but this is a thread about routes and route design so I think it is fair we nitpick especially given the incredible roads Italy has to offer.

I've always thought the should have done that stage in reverse going, Rolle-Manghen-Brocon(via Valmalene) before the final 2 climbs

First 2 weeks sound like decent medium mountains and hills, but it lacks a solid MTF where you can gain more than a few seconds.

Like an absence of cat 1 MTFs isn't a necessary good, it's that I'd want to put the "MTF only" mountain stages in the first 12 stages. Especially in Italy where there's some very good climbs even in the south for a MTF but slightly less possibility for a great multi mountain stage.

 

[JReed27]

First 2 weeks sound like decent medium mountains and hills, but it lacks a solid MTF where you can gain more than a few seconds.

Like an absence of cat 1 MTFs isn't a necessary good, it's that I'd want to put the "MTF only" mountain stages in the first 12 stages. Especially in Italy where there's some very good climbs even in the south for a MTF but slightly less possibility for a great multi mountain stage.

In general I agree, recent editions that have underwhelmed have done so partially because the GC has been too close meaning the first 2 weeks are spent waiting for the last week and the last week is spent trying to hold position rather than make up time. Obviously MTFs do a good job at opening up time gaps but I'm hopeful that the medium mountiains, TTs, muri, and sterrato will create the time gaps inplace of MTFs. If anything I prefer these types of stages to create time gaps as MTFs favour the best climbers who I would prefer had to make up time in the final week but I admit a harder MTF wouldn't go amiss. Abetone after Pradaccio or Terminillio instead of Marsia and a >40km TT on stage 10 then the first 2 weeks are perfect

 

[Devil's Elbow]

First 2 weeks sound like decent medium mountains and hills, but it lacks a solid MTF where you can gain more than a few seconds.

Like an absence of cat 1 MTFs isn't a necessary good, it's that I'd want to put the "MTF only" mountain stages in the first 12 stages. Especially in Italy where there's some very good climbs even in the south for a MTF but slightly less possibility for a great multi mountain stage.

2016 had Rifugio Aremogna of all climbs as its only MTF in the first two weeks, didn't stop either the route or the racing from being pretty damn good.

Sure, a bigger MTF in the first half would add something (wouldn't say no to a non-terrible side of Etna either if Sicily is the replacement Grande Partenza), but it's a drop in the bucket compared to a hypothetical route where all four of Asiago, Bormio, Champoluc and Sestriere are done properly - if that happened, it would instantly be an all-time great route even with a very average remaining 17 stages.

 

[Red Rick]

2016 had Rifugio Aremogna of all climbs as its only MTF in the first two weeks, didn't stop either the route or the racing from being pretty damn good.

Sure, a bigger MTF in the first half would add something (wouldn't say no to a non-terrible side of Etna either if Sicily is the replacement Grande Partenza), but it's a drop in the bucket compared to a hypothetical route where all four of Asiago, Bormio, Champoluc and Sestriere are done properly - if that happened, it would instantly be an all-time great route even with a very average remaining 17 stages.

Champoluc the day before Finestre, and I thought Farrapona before Angliru was so terrible.

But mainly the problem is that climbs a lot easier than Mortirolo - and some of them not even HC climbs, get treated as Mortirolo, while being a lot farther from the finish line.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Champoluc the day before Finestre, and I thought Farrapona before Angliru was so terrible.

3/3 road stages the day before Finestre have delivered about as much as you could have asked for given where they finished (Macugnaga, Cervinia, Prato Nevoso). Granted, those three stages were in relatively favourable Giri overall, but Finestre very much isn't guaranteed to block action the day before (especially not when it keeps being stage 20).

Also, anyyone with two brain cells would take those two stages over any variation of Farrapona before Angliru, but it's pretty clear that you've locked into hating on this route no matter what the final iteration is like...

 

[Peyroteo94]

Do we have a date for route's annoucement?

 

[Red Rick]

3/3 road stages the day before Finestre have delivered about as much as you could have asked for given where they finished (Macugnaga, Cervinia, Prato Nevoso). Granted, those three stages were in relatively favourable Giri overall, but Finestre very much isn't guaranteed to block action the day before (especially not when it keeps being stage 20).

Also, anyyone with two brain cells would take those two stages over any variation of Farrapona before Angliru, but it's pretty clear that you've locked into hating on this route no matter what the final iteration is like...

Meanwhile Angliru hasn't exactly stopped action the day before except for one year. But the main reason I'm bringing it up was because you did so in the Vuelta thread.

Mainly we're just measuring with different sticks. With the Vuelta you know what you get and it's gonna give you a route with high predictability, a high floor and a low ceiling, in which case I think a detail like MTF ordering matters fairly little. Now in the Giro, I'm seeing heaps of praise for a fair number of stages that are pretty damn mid all because there's no big MTFs in them.

 

[JReed27]

Champoluc the day before Finestre, and I thought Farrapona before Angliru was so terrible.

But mainly the problem is that climbs a lot easier than Mortirolo - and some of them not even HC climbs, get treated as Mortirolo, while being a lot farther from the finish line.

100% agree, a climb needs to be properly steep and hard to force action far from the finish, a climb like grappa is hard and could lead to early action but if the group are so minded they could easily go over the top in a group of 20 like we saw with Passo Giau in 2023. Even Coll de Pradell didn't see attacks as it was so far from the end although it did trim the group down and made the final 2 climbs more open for racing. I think the list of climbs that would force action far from the finish that you can descend safely in grand tours is probably less than 5. If the tearrain and distance to the finish after the climb is suitable that number increases massively

 

[Froome]

I don't understand the comment, so fare rumours show a much better route than have been in years.

The route is ridiculous in the first 2 weeks without a real mountain stage.

The mountain stages of the last week are not that great to have attacks from far.

Horrible route, and the Giro is getting too soft.

Probably the Giro 2018 was the last decent route. Not great, but decent.

 

[Red Rick]

2020.............. though it was a big lacklustre in the middle part.

 

[JReed27]

The route is ridiculous in the first 2 weeks without a real mountain stage.

The mountain stages of the last week are not that great to have attacks from far.

Horrible route, and the Giro is getting too soft.

Probably the Giro 2018 was the last decent route. Not great, but decent.

The obvious solution to 90% of the problems the giro faces is to switch its calender position with the vuelta so they don't have to make the race easier to accomodate for top GC riders focussing on the tour and they can use high elevation climbs that are usually snowed off. This will never happen though as it would require ASO to concede the better position in the calender to RCS which will never happen and the UCI are useless so they won't step in and do the obvious things so many fans want.

Or they could stop caring about who turns up and just try and make the race as good as possible and raise the profile of the race naturally so that top riders want to win it as much as the tour. in fact they should try to capitalise on the tour being exclusively behind a pay wall in a few large markets and try selling it to tv channels to show it for free to further build its popularity

 

[gavia88]

The route is ridiculous in the first 2 weeks without a real mountain stage.

The mountain stages of the last week are not that great to have attacks from far.

Horrible route, and the Giro is getting too soft.

Probably the Giro 2018 was the last decent route. Not great, but decent.

I disagree, rumours suggest quite an entertaining first 2 weeks. Yes, it's still backloaded, but the opening weekend in Albania looks promissing (if it happenes). Futermore there seems quite some variation. Hills, medium mountain, mountain top finish, TT and even gravel. Less sprint stages than in previous years. I would say, the first 2 weeks are much better than the average 2 weeks of the giro.

I agree that giro routes have been underwhelming the last years (yes, even tour routes looked better), but I really don't understand the hate so far on this year by some posters on this forum, while rumours looks good so far.

 

[SafeBet]

Do we have a date for route's annoucement?

Nope. All quiet.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

First 2 weeks sound like decent medium mountains and hills, but it lacks a solid MTF where you can gain more than a few seconds.

Super Planche des Belles Filles would be great indeed

​

 

[OlavEH]

The route is ridiculous in the first 2 weeks without a real mountain stage.

The mountain stages of the last week are not that great to have attacks from far.

Horrible route, and the Giro is getting too soft.

Probably the Giro 2018 was the last decent route. Not great, but decent.

Still best route in several years. Okay MTF to Marsia. Sterrato stage. At least two good medium mountain stages, and perhaps more depending on what they do the first 5-6 days. The last week includes one big MTF, Finestre + Sestriere and a pretty good Aosta stage. The most disappointing aspect would be a possibly too short Bormio stage. That should rather have been a possible tappone.