- Sep 20, 2017
- 13,639
- 25,622
- 28,180
Technically the first stage to feature Alpine climbing, although we’re really only touching the foothills. In other words, the mid-mountain fest continues.
Map and profile
Start
The stage starts from Alessandria, the third-largest city in Piemonte at just under 100000 inhabitants. Unlike many places it shares a name with, it has nothing to do with Alexander the Great, having been founded in the 12th century. It is named after an Alexander, though, and Alessandria’s origin story is quite unusual and interesting. In 1159, there had been a contested papal election that ended in the ascension of Alexander III. However, this outcome was contested by his rival, Victor IV, who was then also declared pope. The Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, then called a council, which Alexander rejected as illegitimate (the memory of the Investiture Controversy was then still a living one). Frederick therefore supported Victor, who duly excommunicated Alexander; he responded in kind with the excommunications of Frederick and Victor. The joys of 12th-century politics…
Frederick was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors (in fact, he got the word Holy appended to the title), and thus he had plenty more toes to step on. He regularly went to war in Italy, sometimes because of his power struggles against the pope, but more commonly in an attempt to reassert direct imperial authority over the increasingly powerful cities in the region (officially, everything as far south as the Papal States was part of the Holy Roman Empire at the time). This is a key part of the origin of the division between the pro-papal Guelphs and the pro-imperial Ghibellines that would divide Italy until long after the original papal-imperial rivalry had ceased to be relevant. In 1167, the northern cities allied themselves against Frederick in the Lombard League (constituting most of the Po Valley – the cities further south generally felt more threatened by the papacy and were therefore mostly Ghibelline), and made a show of defying him by consecrating a new city (a power that formally resided with the emperor). The project was supported by Alexander, and thus the city was officially founded as Alessandria in 1168.
In response, Frederick descended upon Italy for a fifth and final time in 1174, and his first major act was to besiege Alessandria. This siege lasted nearly half a year, but was broken. Frederick then got bogged down in an extended campaign against the unexpectedly strong Lombard forces, culminating in a decisive loss at Legnano in 1176. The emperor was now forced to accept Alexander as the true pope and accept significant autonomy for the Lombard cities.
Alessandria was left to navigate the troubled waters of Late Middle Age Italy, eventually falling under the dominion of Milan from 1345 onwards. I’ll have plenty to say about Milan when the Giro actually visits it, the only relevant point for my story here is that it fell under Spanish control in 1535. Alessandria itself was strategically located roughly equidistant from Milan, Turin and Genoa, and steadily grew larger and richer thanks to its position where the trade routes from the former two to the latter met. As I seem to need to discuss at least once every GT, the Spanish Habsburg line died out in 1700, sparking a long succession war that involved most of Europe. The upshot in 1713 was that the French Bourbons were allowed to install a separate branch on the Spanish throne, at the cost of some non-Spanish territories. Alessandria was now annexed by the Savoyard state, and has remained part of Piedmont ever since. The Savoys marked their arrival with the construction of a massive citadel, which (with some Napoleon-era alterations) has been preserved very well.
The years after Napoleon were characterised throughout Europe by waves of liberal revolution, culminating in the almost pan-European revolution of 1848. However, the first wave already came in 1820-1821, and one of the shores it reached was that of Piedmont-Sardinia. An insurrection was launched in Alessandria, and temporarily succeeded in forcing the abdication of Victor Emmanuel I and the adoption of a liberal constitution. The monarchy then rallied under the king’s brother Charles Felix, who was now crowned as his successor, and immediately enlisted the help of the Austrian army to quash the rebellion. Alessandria was not punished too harshly and would expand significantly over the course of the century, but did not lose its radical tendencies: in 1899, it became the first Italian city where the socialists won a majority.
The 20th century in Alessandria was characterised by further growth until the early 1970s, although the subsequent period of population decline that continues to this day for many of its peers has been reversed in recent decades. Its strategic significance made it a bombing target in WWII, and over 500 citizens were killed. The difficult period of the late 20th century culminated in large flooding in 1994, which claimed 11 lives and damaged large parts of the city. Although Alessandria’s economy is mainly associated with the production of hats, it is in fact quite diversified. Its most famous son is probably Umberto Eco, one of the most successful Italian writers of the 20th century (The Name of the Rose, Foucault’s Pendulum). The Giro has visited in nine previous editions, most recently in 2006.
(picture by Lampofinale at Wikimedia Commons)
The route
Although most of the stage is spent in the Po valley and there are no categorised climbs until very late, the start of the day is rolling, giving the breakaway formation a little bit more to work with than we’ve seen on many stages so far. The first 35 kilometres contain the little climbs to Abbazia di Masio (0.7k at 4.2%), Viarigi (1.1k at 4.8%) and Tronco (0.8k at 4.8%), then things become as uninteresting from a sporting perspective as they are from a visual one (with the exception of more historic towns and cities like Casale Monferrato and Vercelli).
In the final third of the stage, we enter the lower parts of the Alps. The route passes through Borgomanero (hometown of Pasquale Fornara, the record four-time winner of Tour de Suisse) ,heading over the false-flat rise to Oleggio Castello before descending to Lago Maggiore, the backdrop for the finale. After the intermediate sprint in Stresa, it’s finally time for real climbs. The cat. 4 to Bieno is merely a leg-softener, but it backs directly into the harder climb up to Ungiasca. The final 1.7k average almost 10%, hard enough for the GC riders to get involved if they feel like it. The bonus sprint is in Unchio, on its lower slopes.
Finish
After the 1.3k of plateau included in the profile above, the road descends through some hairpins into Trobaso. From here, there are 6.4 flattish kilometres left to race until the finish line on the shores of Lago Maggiore, in Verbania, is reached. As you can see, the final straight isn’t the straightest.
The history of Verbania has a lot in common with otherwise fairly unrelated places also visited in this part of the race. Just like Alessandria, it was under the dominion of Milan for centuries, before being annexed by Piedmont-Sardinia (in this case in 1743 – it was controlled by the Austrian Habsburgs after the War of the Spanish Succession, who were forced to give up some of the Milanese territories after their own succession crisis), and has remained Piedmontese ever since. And just like Imperia, it was only established by the Fascist government (in 1939), who merged two towns (Pallanza and Intra) into one larger town that isn’t entirely coherent to this day. The name, too, is a not-so-subtle nod towards the Roman Empire – Lago Maggiore’s Latin name is Verbanus.
Pallanza was historically the more important of the two towns, and is also where we are finishing. Founded about halfway through the Middle Ages, it served as the regional capital from the 14th century until the region was merged into the province of Novara in 1861. Intra received town rights in the late 14th century, indicating that it has had some significance in its own right for a long time. In 1806, the road over the Simplon Pass (Passo del Sempione) into Switzerland was opened, this led to both increased trade and cultural exchange that greatly impacted this part of the Italian Alps. In Pallanza and Intra, the main effect was the development of a now-defunct sizable textile industry, originally by Swiss immigrants. Moreover, from the second half of the 19th century onwards, the Lago Maggiore became in vogue among the well-to-do of Milan, and the large-scale development of villas starts in this period. The 1920s saw the establishment of a large chemical plant, which has survived in reduced form to the present day.
The decline of the town’s industries has been accompanied by the development of tourism, still relatively upmarket but less exclusive than during its inception. It did not suffer much material damage during either World War, but in 1944, the Nazis massacred 43 resistance fighters here. The population contracted severely after the economic crises of the 1970s and 1980s led to a temporary closure of the chemical factory (and the permanent closure of smaller factories), but has since stabilised at about 30000 inhabitants. It has also regained its status as a provincial capital following an administrative reorganisation in 1992.
Verbania is notable as the birthplace of Luigi Cadorna, who served as the commander of the Italian Army during WWI until the disastrous defeat at Caporetto (modern Kobarid, in western Slovenia) that killed 13000 on the Italian side alone caused the Italians to have to fall back all the way to the Veneto, sacrificing the 150 mostly Italian kilometres in between. Oh, and a certain guy named Filippo Ganna is also from here, you might have heard of him. He will be racing a Giro stage in his hometown for the second time in his career, after the start of the final mountain stage in 2021. There were four other visits before that, including the 2015 stage with the same finish line, but a much harder route over the brutal Monte Ologno that saw Contador and Hesjedal put a minute into the other GC riders behind a breakaway battle won by Gilbert.
(picture by Torsade de Pointes at Wikimedia Commons)
What to expect?
Another obvious breakaway opportunity. The final climb is somewhat more GC action-friendly than the one on stage 11, but given that the run-in is so much easier, the former should be a decent indicator for the latter.
Map and profile
Start
The stage starts from Alessandria, the third-largest city in Piemonte at just under 100000 inhabitants. Unlike many places it shares a name with, it has nothing to do with Alexander the Great, having been founded in the 12th century. It is named after an Alexander, though, and Alessandria’s origin story is quite unusual and interesting. In 1159, there had been a contested papal election that ended in the ascension of Alexander III. However, this outcome was contested by his rival, Victor IV, who was then also declared pope. The Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, then called a council, which Alexander rejected as illegitimate (the memory of the Investiture Controversy was then still a living one). Frederick therefore supported Victor, who duly excommunicated Alexander; he responded in kind with the excommunications of Frederick and Victor. The joys of 12th-century politics…
Frederick was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors (in fact, he got the word Holy appended to the title), and thus he had plenty more toes to step on. He regularly went to war in Italy, sometimes because of his power struggles against the pope, but more commonly in an attempt to reassert direct imperial authority over the increasingly powerful cities in the region (officially, everything as far south as the Papal States was part of the Holy Roman Empire at the time). This is a key part of the origin of the division between the pro-papal Guelphs and the pro-imperial Ghibellines that would divide Italy until long after the original papal-imperial rivalry had ceased to be relevant. In 1167, the northern cities allied themselves against Frederick in the Lombard League (constituting most of the Po Valley – the cities further south generally felt more threatened by the papacy and were therefore mostly Ghibelline), and made a show of defying him by consecrating a new city (a power that formally resided with the emperor). The project was supported by Alexander, and thus the city was officially founded as Alessandria in 1168.
In response, Frederick descended upon Italy for a fifth and final time in 1174, and his first major act was to besiege Alessandria. This siege lasted nearly half a year, but was broken. Frederick then got bogged down in an extended campaign against the unexpectedly strong Lombard forces, culminating in a decisive loss at Legnano in 1176. The emperor was now forced to accept Alexander as the true pope and accept significant autonomy for the Lombard cities.
Alessandria was left to navigate the troubled waters of Late Middle Age Italy, eventually falling under the dominion of Milan from 1345 onwards. I’ll have plenty to say about Milan when the Giro actually visits it, the only relevant point for my story here is that it fell under Spanish control in 1535. Alessandria itself was strategically located roughly equidistant from Milan, Turin and Genoa, and steadily grew larger and richer thanks to its position where the trade routes from the former two to the latter met. As I seem to need to discuss at least once every GT, the Spanish Habsburg line died out in 1700, sparking a long succession war that involved most of Europe. The upshot in 1713 was that the French Bourbons were allowed to install a separate branch on the Spanish throne, at the cost of some non-Spanish territories. Alessandria was now annexed by the Savoyard state, and has remained part of Piedmont ever since. The Savoys marked their arrival with the construction of a massive citadel, which (with some Napoleon-era alterations) has been preserved very well.
The years after Napoleon were characterised throughout Europe by waves of liberal revolution, culminating in the almost pan-European revolution of 1848. However, the first wave already came in 1820-1821, and one of the shores it reached was that of Piedmont-Sardinia. An insurrection was launched in Alessandria, and temporarily succeeded in forcing the abdication of Victor Emmanuel I and the adoption of a liberal constitution. The monarchy then rallied under the king’s brother Charles Felix, who was now crowned as his successor, and immediately enlisted the help of the Austrian army to quash the rebellion. Alessandria was not punished too harshly and would expand significantly over the course of the century, but did not lose its radical tendencies: in 1899, it became the first Italian city where the socialists won a majority.
The 20th century in Alessandria was characterised by further growth until the early 1970s, although the subsequent period of population decline that continues to this day for many of its peers has been reversed in recent decades. Its strategic significance made it a bombing target in WWII, and over 500 citizens were killed. The difficult period of the late 20th century culminated in large flooding in 1994, which claimed 11 lives and damaged large parts of the city. Although Alessandria’s economy is mainly associated with the production of hats, it is in fact quite diversified. Its most famous son is probably Umberto Eco, one of the most successful Italian writers of the 20th century (The Name of the Rose, Foucault’s Pendulum). The Giro has visited in nine previous editions, most recently in 2006.
(picture by Lampofinale at Wikimedia Commons)
The route
Although most of the stage is spent in the Po valley and there are no categorised climbs until very late, the start of the day is rolling, giving the breakaway formation a little bit more to work with than we’ve seen on many stages so far. The first 35 kilometres contain the little climbs to Abbazia di Masio (0.7k at 4.2%), Viarigi (1.1k at 4.8%) and Tronco (0.8k at 4.8%), then things become as uninteresting from a sporting perspective as they are from a visual one (with the exception of more historic towns and cities like Casale Monferrato and Vercelli).
In the final third of the stage, we enter the lower parts of the Alps. The route passes through Borgomanero (hometown of Pasquale Fornara, the record four-time winner of Tour de Suisse) ,heading over the false-flat rise to Oleggio Castello before descending to Lago Maggiore, the backdrop for the finale. After the intermediate sprint in Stresa, it’s finally time for real climbs. The cat. 4 to Bieno is merely a leg-softener, but it backs directly into the harder climb up to Ungiasca. The final 1.7k average almost 10%, hard enough for the GC riders to get involved if they feel like it. The bonus sprint is in Unchio, on its lower slopes.
Finish
After the 1.3k of plateau included in the profile above, the road descends through some hairpins into Trobaso. From here, there are 6.4 flattish kilometres left to race until the finish line on the shores of Lago Maggiore, in Verbania, is reached. As you can see, the final straight isn’t the straightest.
The history of Verbania has a lot in common with otherwise fairly unrelated places also visited in this part of the race. Just like Alessandria, it was under the dominion of Milan for centuries, before being annexed by Piedmont-Sardinia (in this case in 1743 – it was controlled by the Austrian Habsburgs after the War of the Spanish Succession, who were forced to give up some of the Milanese territories after their own succession crisis), and has remained Piedmontese ever since. And just like Imperia, it was only established by the Fascist government (in 1939), who merged two towns (Pallanza and Intra) into one larger town that isn’t entirely coherent to this day. The name, too, is a not-so-subtle nod towards the Roman Empire – Lago Maggiore’s Latin name is Verbanus.
Pallanza was historically the more important of the two towns, and is also where we are finishing. Founded about halfway through the Middle Ages, it served as the regional capital from the 14th century until the region was merged into the province of Novara in 1861. Intra received town rights in the late 14th century, indicating that it has had some significance in its own right for a long time. In 1806, the road over the Simplon Pass (Passo del Sempione) into Switzerland was opened, this led to both increased trade and cultural exchange that greatly impacted this part of the Italian Alps. In Pallanza and Intra, the main effect was the development of a now-defunct sizable textile industry, originally by Swiss immigrants. Moreover, from the second half of the 19th century onwards, the Lago Maggiore became in vogue among the well-to-do of Milan, and the large-scale development of villas starts in this period. The 1920s saw the establishment of a large chemical plant, which has survived in reduced form to the present day.
The decline of the town’s industries has been accompanied by the development of tourism, still relatively upmarket but less exclusive than during its inception. It did not suffer much material damage during either World War, but in 1944, the Nazis massacred 43 resistance fighters here. The population contracted severely after the economic crises of the 1970s and 1980s led to a temporary closure of the chemical factory (and the permanent closure of smaller factories), but has since stabilised at about 30000 inhabitants. It has also regained its status as a provincial capital following an administrative reorganisation in 1992.
Verbania is notable as the birthplace of Luigi Cadorna, who served as the commander of the Italian Army during WWI until the disastrous defeat at Caporetto (modern Kobarid, in western Slovenia) that killed 13000 on the Italian side alone caused the Italians to have to fall back all the way to the Veneto, sacrificing the 150 mostly Italian kilometres in between. Oh, and a certain guy named Filippo Ganna is also from here, you might have heard of him. He will be racing a Giro stage in his hometown for the second time in his career, after the start of the final mountain stage in 2021. There were four other visits before that, including the 2015 stage with the same finish line, but a much harder route over the brutal Monte Ologno that saw Contador and Hesjedal put a minute into the other GC riders behind a breakaway battle won by Gilbert.
(picture by Torsade de Pointes at Wikimedia Commons)
What to expect?
Another obvious breakaway opportunity. The final climb is somewhat more GC action-friendly than the one on stage 11, but given that the run-in is so much easier, the former should be a decent indicator for the latter.
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