- Sep 20, 2017
- 13,654
- 25,669
- 28,180
The final stage in the Apennines of this year’s edition. It’s not one of the more difficult ones, but still harder than most sprinters would have liked.
Map and profile
Start
The overnight features the most pointless transfer of this Giro. The shortest route from yesterday’s finish in Chiavari to today’s finish in Novi Ligure is less than 90 kilometres, so naturally we are starting 150 kilometres away from Chiavari and spend most of the stage heading the way we came down the Ligurian coast. I guess the city that hosts the start of the stage, Imperia, must have paid handsomely. The city in its current form has only existed since 1923, when the towns of Porto Maurizio and Oneglia were merged into one entity. As is probably obvious from the name, which refers none too subtly to the concept of empire it embraced, this merger was one of the early acts of the Fascist regime. Although the first years after its inception saw lots of construction to link the two towns, in many ways they remain two separate entities to this day.
So let’s talk about these entities separately, starting with Porto Maurizio. Located on a hill jutting out from the sea, it existed as a small town in the Roman era, but increased in significance when the Byzantines gave it a military function. The Ligurian coast would be their last holdout in this part of Italy when the Lombards came, finally falling in 643. In the 12th century, Porto Maurizio started to develop commercially. The town came under effective Genoese control relatively early, was treated relatively benevolently as a result, and emerged as the main port in this part of Liguria. Already during the Genoese period, the region emerged as an important production centre of olive oil, much of which was shipped from Porto Maurizio.
This export orientation left it relatively insulated from the woes of the Republic of Genoa in its latter years, which meant it was in a comparatively strong position when Piedmontese commenced. Porto Maurizio was initially the capital of one of the three districts within the province of Nice, but when Piedmont-Sardinia ceded the western part (including Nice) to France in exchange for French help during the wars of unification, the town was elevated to the status of provincial capital (a role still played by Imperia today).
Four kilometres to the east, Oneglia also traces its roots back to Roman times, but the modern settlement was possibly refounded after a 10th-century Arab raid. In 1298, the town came into the possession of the House of Doria, one of the most powerful families in Genoa. They managed to get their holdings here elevated to a principality, developed the village into a town, and constructed a palace for their own purposes. In this palace, Andrea Doria was born during the original decline of the Republic of Genoa. He would have a transformative effect on the city in multiple ways. Doria was one of the architects of Genoa’s alliance with Habsburg Spain, for which he served as grand admiral, and he is generally regarded as the most important naval leader in Europe in the first half of the 16th century. This alliance with Spain was also a catalyst for the development of the Genoese banks. Moreover, he oversaw a major overhaul of the city’s politics (notably making the dogeship a term-limited position).
The heirs of the great admiral wound up selling Oneglia to the Savoyard state (which evolved into the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia) in 1576, giving it a second foothold on the Mediterranean (after Nice). Oneglia was bombed by the French in 1792 and large parts of the town centre were constructed after this. Hence, this is the era that gave Oneglia the feature that is so familiar from Milano-Sanremo: this is the town with the really narrow street they pass through directly after Capo Berta.
Imperia was historically an industrial town, including a steel plant and a large pasta factory, but both are now defunct. Instead, it has oriented itself towards tourism, notably including a very large marina in Porto Maurizio (from which we are starting). Its most recent appearance in the Giro was supposed to be as a stage start in 2001, but this was the stage a peloton loaded to the gills with EPO infamously refused to race in protest of a doping raid by the Italian police the night before. To those people who think we should always listen to riders and those supporting them on the rights of the peloton, here are some quotes from that day.
“The police […] should consider the rights of the riders. […] To carry out an action as that which occurred yesterday in the final week of a Grand Tour puts enormous pressure on the riders. I feel sorry for them.” – Hein Verbruggen, UCI president
“The riders are not dogs on a leash. It is up to them to decide.” – Giancarlo Ferretti, director of Fassa Bortolo
“It was like being in an action movie. I wanted to quit after the police's behavior” – Mario Cipollini
And the most ironic one of all, from a collective statement by the riders: "In the light of the debate held, and with the aim of saving the values of cycling, the riders have decided they will finish the 84th Giro d'Italia."
Remind you of anything?
Excluding that dark chapter, this will be its sixth appearance in the Giro, including the 1911 visit to Oneglia.
Porto Maurizio on the left, the port of Oneglia on the far right (by Tomatis Davide at Wikimedia Commons)
The route
The stage starts by heading into the Ligurian Alps, but rather than doing any actual climbs, we are sticking to valley roads separated by tunnels. 45 kilometres into the stage, the riders return to the coast just north of the Capi in Albenga, birthplace of 1999 Lombardia winner Mirko Celestino. The next 40 kilometres are spent following the shoreline until Savona, the third-largest city in Liguria after Genoa and La Spezia. On the other side of the city, the riders turn inland into the westernmost part of the Apennines, and almost immediately it’s time for the first KOM of the day, Colle del Giovo. This climb was used from the opposite side in Sanremo in 2021. The intermediate sprint is in Stella, in the place marked as San Giovanni on the profile below.
After a short descent, it’s time for another climb that was used from a different side in Sanremo in the past. This time, it’s Bric Berton, seen in 2001 and 2002. As you can see, this is the main source of trouble for the sprinters in this stage.
There isn’t really a proper descent, instead the road goes down in steps until it reaches the low valleys on the edge of the Po floodplain. There is a bit of valley, but the final 15 kilometres are hillier than the stage profile suggests. The fun begins with a three-stepped climb to Giora, with the bonus sprint after the second step.
After a descent and some rolling roads, the riders tackle one last hill into Pasturana. At the summit, there are 7 kilometres left to race.
Finish
There is a little descent that ends with about 4k to go and a sharp, tight corner at 3.5k to go, but otherwise there is nothing more complicated than a couple of roundabouts to deal with. The final 3 kilometres are identical to the 2019 finish. The final 750 metres average 2.3%.
The town of Novi Ligure first emerged about halfway through the Middle Ages (then still known as Novi). It is located where the road up to Passo della Bocchetta and Passo dei Giovi, the past and present main routes to Genoa, leaves the Po floodplain, and was therefore quite strategically significant. After centuries of alternating control between local lords, Milan and Genoa, the latter permanently gained control in 1447 (with the exception of an Austrian-Piedmontese occupation between 1745 and 1749). Novi was henceforth the main Genoese possession on the north side of the Apennines, mainly fulfilling a military function but also expanding significantly as a town. In the 17th and 18th century, it became a popular getaway for rich Genoese families, who constructed multiple palaces here.
In 1799, after French annexation, it was the site of an important battle during the War of the Second Coalition, one of many wars that failed to stop revolutionary France in its tracks. Italy was the one theatre of war where France’s opponents performed well, mainly because operations here were led by Alexander Suvorov (on the last campaign of his life), one of the great commanders of the age. At Novi, he defeated the last French army still standing in Italy (it was a bloody affair, with casualties north of 10000. The route into France seemed open, but divisions within the coalition forced Suvorov to retreat north into Switzerland (barely avoiding being trapped by the French) after this battle.
After the Napoleonic era, Novi initially remained part of Liguria, but an administrative reorganisation in 1859 saw it added to Piedmont (Piemonte). In memory of its history, the epithet Ligure was adopted at the same time. After the arrival of the railway line in 1850, Novi Ligure started to transform into an industrial town, most notably including the steelworks which were established in 1900 and remain in operation as well as a lot of food processing. This industrial function made it a target in times of war, and in 1944 Allied bombing claimed over 100 lives. It remains a fairly industrial town, and as with many such towns in western Europe, it has experienced population decline in the past half century. In 2001, a mother and son were stabbed to death in Novi Ligure. It was claimed by the daughter that they had been killed by ‘foreign workers’, prompting wall-to-wall coverage and anti-immigrant hysteria… until it was discovered that the murderers were the daughter and her boyfriend.
Novi Ligure has hosted the Giro on five previous occasions, most recently the aforementioned 2019 stage won by Caleb Ewan. However, its main connection to cycling is of course as the hometown of Costante Girardengo, the first of the campionissimi. The first part of his career was derailed by WWI and a near-fatal bout of Spanish flu, but from age 25 onwards, he was quite dominant until the emergence of Binda coincided with Girardengo himself ageing. He won the Giro twice (despite only finishing it four times) and Lombardia thrice, but his most impressive feat is his six wins in Milano-Sanremo. Only one other rider has won the same monument at least six times: a certain Eddy Merckx. Unfortunately for Girardengo’s legacy, that monument also happens to be Sanremo, and Merckx managed seven wins. Girardengo continued racing the Giro until 1936, aged 43, and died in 1978, two years after seeing his Sanremo record broken.
(picture by Fnovi88 at Wikimedia Commons)
What to expect?
Could be a breakaway day, could be won with a late attack, could be a reduced bunch sprint, could be a larger sprint if the peloton really doesn’t want to race. It’s quite an interesting day, really.
Map and profile
Start
The overnight features the most pointless transfer of this Giro. The shortest route from yesterday’s finish in Chiavari to today’s finish in Novi Ligure is less than 90 kilometres, so naturally we are starting 150 kilometres away from Chiavari and spend most of the stage heading the way we came down the Ligurian coast. I guess the city that hosts the start of the stage, Imperia, must have paid handsomely. The city in its current form has only existed since 1923, when the towns of Porto Maurizio and Oneglia were merged into one entity. As is probably obvious from the name, which refers none too subtly to the concept of empire it embraced, this merger was one of the early acts of the Fascist regime. Although the first years after its inception saw lots of construction to link the two towns, in many ways they remain two separate entities to this day.
So let’s talk about these entities separately, starting with Porto Maurizio. Located on a hill jutting out from the sea, it existed as a small town in the Roman era, but increased in significance when the Byzantines gave it a military function. The Ligurian coast would be their last holdout in this part of Italy when the Lombards came, finally falling in 643. In the 12th century, Porto Maurizio started to develop commercially. The town came under effective Genoese control relatively early, was treated relatively benevolently as a result, and emerged as the main port in this part of Liguria. Already during the Genoese period, the region emerged as an important production centre of olive oil, much of which was shipped from Porto Maurizio.
This export orientation left it relatively insulated from the woes of the Republic of Genoa in its latter years, which meant it was in a comparatively strong position when Piedmontese commenced. Porto Maurizio was initially the capital of one of the three districts within the province of Nice, but when Piedmont-Sardinia ceded the western part (including Nice) to France in exchange for French help during the wars of unification, the town was elevated to the status of provincial capital (a role still played by Imperia today).
Four kilometres to the east, Oneglia also traces its roots back to Roman times, but the modern settlement was possibly refounded after a 10th-century Arab raid. In 1298, the town came into the possession of the House of Doria, one of the most powerful families in Genoa. They managed to get their holdings here elevated to a principality, developed the village into a town, and constructed a palace for their own purposes. In this palace, Andrea Doria was born during the original decline of the Republic of Genoa. He would have a transformative effect on the city in multiple ways. Doria was one of the architects of Genoa’s alliance with Habsburg Spain, for which he served as grand admiral, and he is generally regarded as the most important naval leader in Europe in the first half of the 16th century. This alliance with Spain was also a catalyst for the development of the Genoese banks. Moreover, he oversaw a major overhaul of the city’s politics (notably making the dogeship a term-limited position).
The heirs of the great admiral wound up selling Oneglia to the Savoyard state (which evolved into the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia) in 1576, giving it a second foothold on the Mediterranean (after Nice). Oneglia was bombed by the French in 1792 and large parts of the town centre were constructed after this. Hence, this is the era that gave Oneglia the feature that is so familiar from Milano-Sanremo: this is the town with the really narrow street they pass through directly after Capo Berta.
Imperia was historically an industrial town, including a steel plant and a large pasta factory, but both are now defunct. Instead, it has oriented itself towards tourism, notably including a very large marina in Porto Maurizio (from which we are starting). Its most recent appearance in the Giro was supposed to be as a stage start in 2001, but this was the stage a peloton loaded to the gills with EPO infamously refused to race in protest of a doping raid by the Italian police the night before. To those people who think we should always listen to riders and those supporting them on the rights of the peloton, here are some quotes from that day.
“The police […] should consider the rights of the riders. […] To carry out an action as that which occurred yesterday in the final week of a Grand Tour puts enormous pressure on the riders. I feel sorry for them.” – Hein Verbruggen, UCI president
“The riders are not dogs on a leash. It is up to them to decide.” – Giancarlo Ferretti, director of Fassa Bortolo
“It was like being in an action movie. I wanted to quit after the police's behavior” – Mario Cipollini
And the most ironic one of all, from a collective statement by the riders: "In the light of the debate held, and with the aim of saving the values of cycling, the riders have decided they will finish the 84th Giro d'Italia."
Remind you of anything?
Excluding that dark chapter, this will be its sixth appearance in the Giro, including the 1911 visit to Oneglia.
Porto Maurizio on the left, the port of Oneglia on the far right (by Tomatis Davide at Wikimedia Commons)
The route
The stage starts by heading into the Ligurian Alps, but rather than doing any actual climbs, we are sticking to valley roads separated by tunnels. 45 kilometres into the stage, the riders return to the coast just north of the Capi in Albenga, birthplace of 1999 Lombardia winner Mirko Celestino. The next 40 kilometres are spent following the shoreline until Savona, the third-largest city in Liguria after Genoa and La Spezia. On the other side of the city, the riders turn inland into the westernmost part of the Apennines, and almost immediately it’s time for the first KOM of the day, Colle del Giovo. This climb was used from the opposite side in Sanremo in 2021. The intermediate sprint is in Stella, in the place marked as San Giovanni on the profile below.
After a short descent, it’s time for another climb that was used from a different side in Sanremo in the past. This time, it’s Bric Berton, seen in 2001 and 2002. As you can see, this is the main source of trouble for the sprinters in this stage.
There isn’t really a proper descent, instead the road goes down in steps until it reaches the low valleys on the edge of the Po floodplain. There is a bit of valley, but the final 15 kilometres are hillier than the stage profile suggests. The fun begins with a three-stepped climb to Giora, with the bonus sprint after the second step.
After a descent and some rolling roads, the riders tackle one last hill into Pasturana. At the summit, there are 7 kilometres left to race.
Finish
There is a little descent that ends with about 4k to go and a sharp, tight corner at 3.5k to go, but otherwise there is nothing more complicated than a couple of roundabouts to deal with. The final 3 kilometres are identical to the 2019 finish. The final 750 metres average 2.3%.
The town of Novi Ligure first emerged about halfway through the Middle Ages (then still known as Novi). It is located where the road up to Passo della Bocchetta and Passo dei Giovi, the past and present main routes to Genoa, leaves the Po floodplain, and was therefore quite strategically significant. After centuries of alternating control between local lords, Milan and Genoa, the latter permanently gained control in 1447 (with the exception of an Austrian-Piedmontese occupation between 1745 and 1749). Novi was henceforth the main Genoese possession on the north side of the Apennines, mainly fulfilling a military function but also expanding significantly as a town. In the 17th and 18th century, it became a popular getaway for rich Genoese families, who constructed multiple palaces here.
In 1799, after French annexation, it was the site of an important battle during the War of the Second Coalition, one of many wars that failed to stop revolutionary France in its tracks. Italy was the one theatre of war where France’s opponents performed well, mainly because operations here were led by Alexander Suvorov (on the last campaign of his life), one of the great commanders of the age. At Novi, he defeated the last French army still standing in Italy (it was a bloody affair, with casualties north of 10000. The route into France seemed open, but divisions within the coalition forced Suvorov to retreat north into Switzerland (barely avoiding being trapped by the French) after this battle.
After the Napoleonic era, Novi initially remained part of Liguria, but an administrative reorganisation in 1859 saw it added to Piedmont (Piemonte). In memory of its history, the epithet Ligure was adopted at the same time. After the arrival of the railway line in 1850, Novi Ligure started to transform into an industrial town, most notably including the steelworks which were established in 1900 and remain in operation as well as a lot of food processing. This industrial function made it a target in times of war, and in 1944 Allied bombing claimed over 100 lives. It remains a fairly industrial town, and as with many such towns in western Europe, it has experienced population decline in the past half century. In 2001, a mother and son were stabbed to death in Novi Ligure. It was claimed by the daughter that they had been killed by ‘foreign workers’, prompting wall-to-wall coverage and anti-immigrant hysteria… until it was discovered that the murderers were the daughter and her boyfriend.
Novi Ligure has hosted the Giro on five previous occasions, most recently the aforementioned 2019 stage won by Caleb Ewan. However, its main connection to cycling is of course as the hometown of Costante Girardengo, the first of the campionissimi. The first part of his career was derailed by WWI and a near-fatal bout of Spanish flu, but from age 25 onwards, he was quite dominant until the emergence of Binda coincided with Girardengo himself ageing. He won the Giro twice (despite only finishing it four times) and Lombardia thrice, but his most impressive feat is his six wins in Milano-Sanremo. Only one other rider has won the same monument at least six times: a certain Eddy Merckx. Unfortunately for Girardengo’s legacy, that monument also happens to be Sanremo, and Merckx managed seven wins. Girardengo continued racing the Giro until 1936, aged 43, and died in 1978, two years after seeing his Sanremo record broken.
(picture by Fnovi88 at Wikimedia Commons)
What to expect?
Could be a breakaway day, could be won with a late attack, could be a reduced bunch sprint, could be a larger sprint if the peloton really doesn’t want to race. It’s quite an interesting day, really.
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