- Sep 26, 2020
- 23,793
- 25,172
- 22,180
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a race on our hands!
All hail the Devil's Elbow:
Map and profile
Start
San Michele is a village in the heart of the lower Adige valley, built around an originally 12th-century monastery. Like most of the villages in the area it mainly depends on its vineyards and apple orchards. However, the connection is stronger in San Michele than anywhere else, as in 1874 the Austrian government founded an agricultural institution here at the former monastic premises. Although its form, function and name have changed over time, this institution survived the Italian takeover of Trentino and is now named the Edmund Mach Foundation after its first director. Its current activities mainly focus on the DNA of grapes and apples, and apparently that was a great fit for hosting a Giro stage because as you can tell from the profile it’s at least helped pay for this stage start.
(picture by Matteo Ianiselli at Wikimedia Commons)
Route
The race starts by heading out of the Adige valley into the Val di Non. Rather than opting for a tricky start, the route sticks to the highway, meaning the main ‘climb’ is a paltry 3.0k at 5.1%. Another easy ramp brings the riders into Cles, for an intermediate sprint. Just past the town, the valley splits in two directions, with the riders heading west into the Val di Sole. This area is more commonly associated with World Cups in MTB and, for three gimmicky years where the UCI tried to pitch the sport as a Winter Olympics event, cyclocross. The road does continue to drag uphill, and by the time we reach the bottom of the first KOM, the riders have gained a net 750 metres of elevation since the start. Said KOM is the Passo del Tonale, one of the most-used climbs in the race’s history… for its location, not its difficulty.
An easy descent brings the riders into Ponte di Legno, from where the road turns into a downhill false flat. This lasts until the intermediate sprint in Vezza d’Oglio. From there, it’s a short, shallow descent into the bottom of the next climb, the famed Mortirolo.
For the third time in four years, we are not doing the classic side, and assuming no last-minute Recta Contador it will once again be from the single easiest side.
The descent is moderately technical (remember the Nibali attack here in 2022), but once it ends we still have 34 fairly easy kilometres left to race. Most of these are spent on the main road into Bormio, a combination of flats, false flats and a 1.9k at 7.5% dig up to Morignone, right after the bonification sprint in Le Prese. At 12 kilometres from the line, there is one last KOM, the short and stingy Le Motte. Note RCS’ excellent quality control to the right of the profile.
Finish
The final 8.9 kilometres are very straightforward, with two short and easy descents and two flat sections. The final flat section starts with a hairpin bend at the flamme rouge, from where we make our way to the 2017 finish with its four 90-degree turns in the final 300 metres.
Bormio has been a well-known tourist destination for as long as it has existed. It was originally founded by the Romans predominantly to take advantage of its hot springs, and parts of the thermal baths from that era remain in use today. In the second half of the Middle Ages, one of the main Alpine trading routes ran through this part of the Alps and Bormio grew large and rich mainly by taxing traders, peaking at an estimated 5000 inhabitants. The springs were also reopened in this era, likely in the 13th century. However, it lost its privileges after falling under Swiss control in 1512, and went into a period of decline that lasted through annexation by Napoleonic Italy in 1797 (it has remained part of Lombardy ever since). Lombardy became a part of the Habsburg Empire in 1815, and to improve connections with Tyrol, the road over the Stelvio (which, as you probably know, is directly above Bormio) was built. This greatly helped the development of tourism, initially still centred around the thermal baths but increasingly diversified in more recent times. The town is especially notable for alpine skiing, where it is a mainstay on the World Cup circuit, has organised the World Championships in 1985 and 2005, and will host the men’s events in the 2026 Olympics. And of course, cycling is also key here, both from a tourist and a racing perspective. The Giro has finished here on seven previous occasions (including the one in Bormio 2000, above town), including the legendary 1988 Gavia stage which really needs no introduction here. The last of these stages was in 2017, with Vincenzo Nibali taking the win while Tom Dumoulin put his pink jersey in jeopardy by fertilizing the roadside.
(picture by silvio alaimo sj at Panoramio, reuploaded to Wikimedia Commons)
What to expect?
Only the most desperate would consider attacking on this side of Mortirolo when it’s this far from the finish, so any GC action will be limited to Le Motte. All this should happen behind yet another victorious breakaway.
All hail the Devil's Elbow:
Stage 17: San Michele all’Adige – Bormio
The second of the two horrific stage designs. Choosing to forgo the extremely obvious hard side of Stelvio is one thing, but to take just about the easiest possible route instead is unforgiveable. Assuming the route I have in front of me is the final one, because no serious organisation would talk about a major change this close to the start of the race, right?Map and profile
Start
San Michele is a village in the heart of the lower Adige valley, built around an originally 12th-century monastery. Like most of the villages in the area it mainly depends on its vineyards and apple orchards. However, the connection is stronger in San Michele than anywhere else, as in 1874 the Austrian government founded an agricultural institution here at the former monastic premises. Although its form, function and name have changed over time, this institution survived the Italian takeover of Trentino and is now named the Edmund Mach Foundation after its first director. Its current activities mainly focus on the DNA of grapes and apples, and apparently that was a great fit for hosting a Giro stage because as you can tell from the profile it’s at least helped pay for this stage start.
(picture by Matteo Ianiselli at Wikimedia Commons)
Route
The race starts by heading out of the Adige valley into the Val di Non. Rather than opting for a tricky start, the route sticks to the highway, meaning the main ‘climb’ is a paltry 3.0k at 5.1%. Another easy ramp brings the riders into Cles, for an intermediate sprint. Just past the town, the valley splits in two directions, with the riders heading west into the Val di Sole. This area is more commonly associated with World Cups in MTB and, for three gimmicky years where the UCI tried to pitch the sport as a Winter Olympics event, cyclocross. The road does continue to drag uphill, and by the time we reach the bottom of the first KOM, the riders have gained a net 750 metres of elevation since the start. Said KOM is the Passo del Tonale, one of the most-used climbs in the race’s history… for its location, not its difficulty.
An easy descent brings the riders into Ponte di Legno, from where the road turns into a downhill false flat. This lasts until the intermediate sprint in Vezza d’Oglio. From there, it’s a short, shallow descent into the bottom of the next climb, the famed Mortirolo.
For the third time in four years, we are not doing the classic side, and assuming no last-minute Recta Contador it will once again be from the single easiest side.
The descent is moderately technical (remember the Nibali attack here in 2022), but once it ends we still have 34 fairly easy kilometres left to race. Most of these are spent on the main road into Bormio, a combination of flats, false flats and a 1.9k at 7.5% dig up to Morignone, right after the bonification sprint in Le Prese. At 12 kilometres from the line, there is one last KOM, the short and stingy Le Motte. Note RCS’ excellent quality control to the right of the profile.
Finish
The final 8.9 kilometres are very straightforward, with two short and easy descents and two flat sections. The final flat section starts with a hairpin bend at the flamme rouge, from where we make our way to the 2017 finish with its four 90-degree turns in the final 300 metres.
Bormio has been a well-known tourist destination for as long as it has existed. It was originally founded by the Romans predominantly to take advantage of its hot springs, and parts of the thermal baths from that era remain in use today. In the second half of the Middle Ages, one of the main Alpine trading routes ran through this part of the Alps and Bormio grew large and rich mainly by taxing traders, peaking at an estimated 5000 inhabitants. The springs were also reopened in this era, likely in the 13th century. However, it lost its privileges after falling under Swiss control in 1512, and went into a period of decline that lasted through annexation by Napoleonic Italy in 1797 (it has remained part of Lombardy ever since). Lombardy became a part of the Habsburg Empire in 1815, and to improve connections with Tyrol, the road over the Stelvio (which, as you probably know, is directly above Bormio) was built. This greatly helped the development of tourism, initially still centred around the thermal baths but increasingly diversified in more recent times. The town is especially notable for alpine skiing, where it is a mainstay on the World Cup circuit, has organised the World Championships in 1985 and 2005, and will host the men’s events in the 2026 Olympics. And of course, cycling is also key here, both from a tourist and a racing perspective. The Giro has finished here on seven previous occasions (including the one in Bormio 2000, above town), including the legendary 1988 Gavia stage which really needs no introduction here. The last of these stages was in 2017, with Vincenzo Nibali taking the win while Tom Dumoulin put his pink jersey in jeopardy by fertilizing the roadside.
(picture by silvio alaimo sj at Panoramio, reuploaded to Wikimedia Commons)
What to expect?
Only the most desperate would consider attacking on this side of Mortirolo when it’s this far from the finish, so any GC action will be limited to Le Motte. All this should happen behind yet another victorious breakaway.
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