- Sep 26, 2020
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- 25,381
- 22,180
So after three weeks it all comes down to this. Who will attack early and who will suck wheels? Who will crack first? Will it be De Bondt or Pedersen who wins the Traguardo Volante?
Map and profile
Start
The day of reckoning starts at the bottom of Tzecore in Verrès, in the southeastern part of the Valle d’Aosta. In the 14th century, a castle was built here, serving as part of the fortification network guarding the entrances to Piedmont until its abandonment in the 17th century. However, the town itself is certainly older, as its church dates back to the 11th century. In the 19th and 20th century, the cotton factory here was one of the main employers in the region, but it closed in the 1970s, causing a period of economic stagnation. Modern Verrès relies mostly on tourism, serving as a centre for the surrounding valleys (including the Ayas valley, where the previous day’s finish was), but also being a destination in its own right thanks mostly to the now-restored castle. It has hosted the Giro once before, as the start of a transitional stage in 1997.
(picture by Enrico Robetto at Wikimedia Commons)
Route
The first 22 kilometres are spent retracing the previous day’s route in the opposite direction, however this time there is a lot more flat to get through. After a passage in Ivrea, birthplace of the Arduino board, the route swings southwest to follow the edge of the Alps. The roads are rolling, but only after 60 kilometres of racing do we get a climb of sorts. The easy ascent to Corio comprises the first 8.1 kilometres of the profile below, with the intermediate sprint part way up in Rocca Canavese.
After this, the route actually heads into the Alps, rising irregularly all the way to the summit of Colle del Lys. By this point, we have joined the route of the 2018 stage, legendary for its contribution to the study of false flats and clearly nothing else.
The descent is somewhat technical, but with lots of valley up ahead it shouldn’t worry anyone. Early on in said valley, there is one more intermediate sprint in Chiusa di San Michele. And then, it’s time for Her Majesty, the modern classic, this year’s Cima Coppi, the mighty Finestre. It’s strange to think that this will be only the fourth time the Giro goes up here.
But of course, a great climb doesn’t make a great finish on its own. Enter the easy part of the best hard-easy combination in the sport. Half the categorised section is a false flat and the other half isn’t exactly steep either, but just ask Gilberto Simoni how much damage it can do when you have nineteen days of racing plus the Finestre in your legs. I could go on, but I want this thread to go out tonight and really none of this needs an introduction even though the combination hasn’t been used as a finish for a decade.
Final kilometres
As the only place with a town hall above 2000 metres, Sestrière is the highest municipality in Italy. Founded in the 1930s, it was developed entirely for tourism. Skiing has been its core business since day one, and today it sits at the heart of Via Lattea, one of the largest ski areas in the Alps. It is also one of the country’s most important competition venues, having hosted the World Championships in 1997 as well as the men’s downhill events in the 2006 Olympics. In addition, it is far and away the most iconic finish location in this edition, courtesy of a long tradition of legendary stages – Fausto Coppi’s most dominant stage win in the most dominant Tour win in history in 1952, Claudio Chiappucci’s great raid in the 1992 Tour, Bjarne Riis’ watts explosion in the 1996 Tour, and Paolo Savoldelli’s epic defence in the 2005 Giro are the most notable ones. It really says a lot that Stefano Garzelli and Tao Geoghegan Hart each landed the decisive blows in their respective Giro wins here and neither stage even makes that list. The latter stage, in 2020, is also the most recent visit here. And then we haven’t even talked about all the other stages that passed through here, because then we can start with Coppi all over again…
(picture by Lucas130999 at Wikimedia Commons)
What to expect?
Anything less than the best mountain stage of the season would be a disappointment.
Stage 20: Verrès – Sestrière
The greatest finish in cycling. Finestre always delivers, so even if we get nineteen stages of 2023 redux before this there will still be hope.Map and profile
Start
The day of reckoning starts at the bottom of Tzecore in Verrès, in the southeastern part of the Valle d’Aosta. In the 14th century, a castle was built here, serving as part of the fortification network guarding the entrances to Piedmont until its abandonment in the 17th century. However, the town itself is certainly older, as its church dates back to the 11th century. In the 19th and 20th century, the cotton factory here was one of the main employers in the region, but it closed in the 1970s, causing a period of economic stagnation. Modern Verrès relies mostly on tourism, serving as a centre for the surrounding valleys (including the Ayas valley, where the previous day’s finish was), but also being a destination in its own right thanks mostly to the now-restored castle. It has hosted the Giro once before, as the start of a transitional stage in 1997.
(picture by Enrico Robetto at Wikimedia Commons)
Route
The first 22 kilometres are spent retracing the previous day’s route in the opposite direction, however this time there is a lot more flat to get through. After a passage in Ivrea, birthplace of the Arduino board, the route swings southwest to follow the edge of the Alps. The roads are rolling, but only after 60 kilometres of racing do we get a climb of sorts. The easy ascent to Corio comprises the first 8.1 kilometres of the profile below, with the intermediate sprint part way up in Rocca Canavese.
After this, the route actually heads into the Alps, rising irregularly all the way to the summit of Colle del Lys. By this point, we have joined the route of the 2018 stage, legendary for its contribution to the study of false flats and clearly nothing else.
The descent is somewhat technical, but with lots of valley up ahead it shouldn’t worry anyone. Early on in said valley, there is one more intermediate sprint in Chiusa di San Michele. And then, it’s time for Her Majesty, the modern classic, this year’s Cima Coppi, the mighty Finestre. It’s strange to think that this will be only the fourth time the Giro goes up here.
But of course, a great climb doesn’t make a great finish on its own. Enter the easy part of the best hard-easy combination in the sport. Half the categorised section is a false flat and the other half isn’t exactly steep either, but just ask Gilberto Simoni how much damage it can do when you have nineteen days of racing plus the Finestre in your legs. I could go on, but I want this thread to go out tonight and really none of this needs an introduction even though the combination hasn’t been used as a finish for a decade.
Final kilometres
As the only place with a town hall above 2000 metres, Sestrière is the highest municipality in Italy. Founded in the 1930s, it was developed entirely for tourism. Skiing has been its core business since day one, and today it sits at the heart of Via Lattea, one of the largest ski areas in the Alps. It is also one of the country’s most important competition venues, having hosted the World Championships in 1997 as well as the men’s downhill events in the 2006 Olympics. In addition, it is far and away the most iconic finish location in this edition, courtesy of a long tradition of legendary stages – Fausto Coppi’s most dominant stage win in the most dominant Tour win in history in 1952, Claudio Chiappucci’s great raid in the 1992 Tour, Bjarne Riis’ watts explosion in the 1996 Tour, and Paolo Savoldelli’s epic defence in the 2005 Giro are the most notable ones. It really says a lot that Stefano Garzelli and Tao Geoghegan Hart each landed the decisive blows in their respective Giro wins here and neither stage even makes that list. The latter stage, in 2020, is also the most recent visit here. And then we haven’t even talked about all the other stages that passed through here, because then we can start with Coppi all over again…
(picture by Lucas130999 at Wikimedia Commons)
What to expect?
Anything less than the best mountain stage of the season would be a disappointment.
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