- Sep 20, 2017
- 13,639
- 25,622
- 28,180
The last roll of the dice, but it will take a big throw to get them to roll very far.
Map and profile
Start
Just like in 2014 and 2023, the final GC day is entirely in Friuli. On this occasion, we are starting from Gemona del Friuli (or Glemone in Friulian), and as I will get to shortly, it’s not for a happy reason. The town developed around a hill that was probably already fortified in pre-Roman times. Around the year 1000, a proper castle was constructed here. From the second half of that century onwards, its lords did homage to the Patriarchs of Aquileia, and while the capital of the so-called Patriarchal State of Aquileia shifted from the eponymous town via Cividale to Udine, the role of Gemona did not. Guarding the end of the Tagliamento Valley, the main gateway from the Alps into the northeastern corner of the Po floodplain, it served both a military and a trade function, the feudal function disappearing when the castle was sold to the Patriarch in 1321. However, after the Patriarchate was conquered by the Venetians in 1411-20, the already-damaged castle was abandoned and the Tagliamento route became less important due to its distance to Venice.
The Venetian period was not a happy one for most of Friuli, including Gemona. As a border region (the area around Gorizia was on the Austrian side, and remained there until the end of WWI), it suffered whenever Venice and the Habsburgs went to war, but more important was the disregard with which the Venetians generally treated Friuli. The region would be northern Italy’s most impoverished from then until the mid-20th century. From a political perspective, the Venetian part of Friuli, containing Gemona, followed the same trajectory as the Veneto, being annexed by Austria after the end of the Republic of Venice before being conquered by Italy in 1866. Significant parts of the region were severely damaged during WW1, but Gemona was one of the places where the Italian retreat in 1917 happened so quickly that there was no significant fighting during the brief moment when the frontlines reached the town. The interwar period was characterised by forced Italianisation (especially aimed at the ethnically German and Slovenian part of the population in the formerly Austrian areas, but also targeting the Friulian language). For Gemona, this meant that ‘del Friuli’ was officially added to its name in 1935.
As hinted at previously, the postwar period saw rapid economic development in Friuli and the part of Venezia Giulia that had not been ceded to Yugoslavia (i.e. the Trieste area). The two were also united as an autonomous region in 1947. The economic boom somewhat bypassed Gemona, which has experienced gradual population decline ever since. However, the effects of that were nothing compared to what would transpire in 1976. On May 6, a severe earthquake struck Friuli, claiming 990 lives and leaving over 150000 people homeless. The epicentre was on the outskirts of Gemona, and the town was almost completely destroyed. In the decades that followed, the town centre was painstakingly reconstructed in its original style. Many events are being held this year to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the disaster, of which this Giro stage start will be perhaps the highest-profile. It has hosted the Giro on three previous occasions, and as you can tell from the years (1977, 2006 and 2014), two of those were also in remembrance of the disaster.
(picture by BelPatty86 at Wikimedia Commons)
The route
The first part of the stage is designed not with the racing in mind, but with commemoration, visiting all the towns and villages that were hit hardest by the earthquake. One of these towns is Buja, the hometown of three-time Vuelta stage winner and current Jayco DS Alessandro De Marchi. Eventually, we head west, and the roads turn from rolling to hilly. The first difficulty of note is the little wall up to Susans, about 65 kilometres into the stage.
This is followed by a slightly longer wall into Forgaria nel Friuli (Forgjarie), with the intermediate sprint at the summit.
The descent from this village backs directly into the first KOM of the day, to Clauzetto. Surprisingly for a climb of this size, we have an official profile.
After the descent, the route spends 40 kilometres following the edge of the Alps without taking on any climbs (not that there are many here), before the first ascent of the MTF. The first 8.0 kilometres average 9.2%, after which the gradient tapers off a bit.
Finish
Just like in 2011, Piancavallo (Plancjaval) is being used as a pass, which entails descending the less steep, but much narrower northern side. Unlike in 2011, this is not the start of an all-time great stage design. We head back towards the Po valley, passing through a long tunnel that is certain to mess with the broadcast, and then rejoin the run-in to the first ascent right before the bonus sprint in Malnisio (Malnis). After that, it’s time for the final showdown.
Piancavallo is a smallish ski resort on the western edge of Friuli. First opened in the 1960s, it saw significant investment in its early years, notably being the first Italian resort to install an artificial snowmaking system in 1976. Between 1979 and 1992, it hosted the women’s ski World Cup 10 times. After this era came to an end, it switched its professional sporting focus to cycling, hosting MTFs in 1998 (won by Pantani), 2017 (Landa) and 2020 (Geoghegan Hart). Professional winter sports made a return in 2020 when the snowboard World Cup had a leg here, but after two of the following three editions had to be called off, Piancavallo has disappeared from the calendar.
(picture by Croberto68 at Wikimedia Commons)
What to expect?
Only the most desperate will consider attacking on the first ascent of Piancavallo, but the front-loaded nature of the climb (as well as this being the last opportunity to take time) means the race is likely to explode on the first half of the MTF. This is also perhaps the best chance the break has to win one of the big mountain stages.
Map and profile
Start
Just like in 2014 and 2023, the final GC day is entirely in Friuli. On this occasion, we are starting from Gemona del Friuli (or Glemone in Friulian), and as I will get to shortly, it’s not for a happy reason. The town developed around a hill that was probably already fortified in pre-Roman times. Around the year 1000, a proper castle was constructed here. From the second half of that century onwards, its lords did homage to the Patriarchs of Aquileia, and while the capital of the so-called Patriarchal State of Aquileia shifted from the eponymous town via Cividale to Udine, the role of Gemona did not. Guarding the end of the Tagliamento Valley, the main gateway from the Alps into the northeastern corner of the Po floodplain, it served both a military and a trade function, the feudal function disappearing when the castle was sold to the Patriarch in 1321. However, after the Patriarchate was conquered by the Venetians in 1411-20, the already-damaged castle was abandoned and the Tagliamento route became less important due to its distance to Venice.
The Venetian period was not a happy one for most of Friuli, including Gemona. As a border region (the area around Gorizia was on the Austrian side, and remained there until the end of WWI), it suffered whenever Venice and the Habsburgs went to war, but more important was the disregard with which the Venetians generally treated Friuli. The region would be northern Italy’s most impoverished from then until the mid-20th century. From a political perspective, the Venetian part of Friuli, containing Gemona, followed the same trajectory as the Veneto, being annexed by Austria after the end of the Republic of Venice before being conquered by Italy in 1866. Significant parts of the region were severely damaged during WW1, but Gemona was one of the places where the Italian retreat in 1917 happened so quickly that there was no significant fighting during the brief moment when the frontlines reached the town. The interwar period was characterised by forced Italianisation (especially aimed at the ethnically German and Slovenian part of the population in the formerly Austrian areas, but also targeting the Friulian language). For Gemona, this meant that ‘del Friuli’ was officially added to its name in 1935.
As hinted at previously, the postwar period saw rapid economic development in Friuli and the part of Venezia Giulia that had not been ceded to Yugoslavia (i.e. the Trieste area). The two were also united as an autonomous region in 1947. The economic boom somewhat bypassed Gemona, which has experienced gradual population decline ever since. However, the effects of that were nothing compared to what would transpire in 1976. On May 6, a severe earthquake struck Friuli, claiming 990 lives and leaving over 150000 people homeless. The epicentre was on the outskirts of Gemona, and the town was almost completely destroyed. In the decades that followed, the town centre was painstakingly reconstructed in its original style. Many events are being held this year to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the disaster, of which this Giro stage start will be perhaps the highest-profile. It has hosted the Giro on three previous occasions, and as you can tell from the years (1977, 2006 and 2014), two of those were also in remembrance of the disaster.
(picture by BelPatty86 at Wikimedia Commons)
The route
The first part of the stage is designed not with the racing in mind, but with commemoration, visiting all the towns and villages that were hit hardest by the earthquake. One of these towns is Buja, the hometown of three-time Vuelta stage winner and current Jayco DS Alessandro De Marchi. Eventually, we head west, and the roads turn from rolling to hilly. The first difficulty of note is the little wall up to Susans, about 65 kilometres into the stage.
This is followed by a slightly longer wall into Forgaria nel Friuli (Forgjarie), with the intermediate sprint at the summit.
The descent from this village backs directly into the first KOM of the day, to Clauzetto. Surprisingly for a climb of this size, we have an official profile.
After the descent, the route spends 40 kilometres following the edge of the Alps without taking on any climbs (not that there are many here), before the first ascent of the MTF. The first 8.0 kilometres average 9.2%, after which the gradient tapers off a bit.
Finish
Just like in 2011, Piancavallo (Plancjaval) is being used as a pass, which entails descending the less steep, but much narrower northern side. Unlike in 2011, this is not the start of an all-time great stage design. We head back towards the Po valley, passing through a long tunnel that is certain to mess with the broadcast, and then rejoin the run-in to the first ascent right before the bonus sprint in Malnisio (Malnis). After that, it’s time for the final showdown.
Piancavallo is a smallish ski resort on the western edge of Friuli. First opened in the 1960s, it saw significant investment in its early years, notably being the first Italian resort to install an artificial snowmaking system in 1976. Between 1979 and 1992, it hosted the women’s ski World Cup 10 times. After this era came to an end, it switched its professional sporting focus to cycling, hosting MTFs in 1998 (won by Pantani), 2017 (Landa) and 2020 (Geoghegan Hart). Professional winter sports made a return in 2020 when the snowboard World Cup had a leg here, but after two of the following three editions had to be called off, Piancavallo has disappeared from the calendar.
(picture by Croberto68 at Wikimedia Commons)
What to expect?
Only the most desperate will consider attacking on the first ascent of Piancavallo, but the front-loaded nature of the climb (as well as this being the last opportunity to take time) means the race is likely to explode on the first half of the MTF. This is also perhaps the best chance the break has to win one of the big mountain stages.
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