• The Cycling News forum is still looking to add volunteer moderators with. If you're interested in helping keep our discussions on track, send a direct message to @SHaines here on the forum, or use the Contact Us form to message the Community Team.

    In the meanwhile, please use the Report option if you see a post that doesn't fit within the forum rules.

    Thanks!

Giro d'Italia Rate the 2024 Giro d'Italia Route

Rate the Route

  • 10 (best)

    Votes: 1 1.4%
  • 9

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 8

    Votes: 3 4.1%
  • 7

    Votes: 13 17.6%
  • 6

    Votes: 26 35.1%
  • 5

    Votes: 19 25.7%
  • 4

    Votes: 9 12.2%
  • 3

    Votes: 1 1.4%
  • 2

    Votes: 1 1.4%
  • 1 (worst)

    Votes: 1 1.4%

  • Total voters
    74
I'll give it a 6, it is fairly balanced in terms of TTing and not too backloaded. But the individual stages are just not doing it for me.

This is also as good a time as any to mention that I will not be doing the stage analysis anymore. This is not related to the route itself, I already decided a while ago. I'm just not following cycling as much as I used to.
I'm saying that in advance so if anyone wants to do something similar they have plenty of time to plan it.
 
+ Excellent first weekend
+ Good amount of TT
+ Livigno and Grappa stages both look fairly good (but could have been better)

- Far too many sprint opportunities, often in places near lots of good climbs too
- Joke of a sterrato stage
- Joke of a Dolomites block

It's a borderline 5 or 6 for me, but the sheer amount of designs that could have been so much more makes me go for the former option. Disappointing route.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zoetemelk-fan
Horrible. They just can't help it, can't they?
The real stages start in Stage 15. If we consider them hard enough.

- Backloading again
- Too many flat stages.

I give it a 4. I might change my mind if someone shows me otherwise but it could be lower than this. Just horrible.
Don't really think its backloaded at all. This is the best we can get in terms of not backloading I think.
 
Jul 22, 2023
9
13
560
I am disappointed about Bormio and Dolomites regions. I was hoping for Mortirolo and/or Gavia. I think especially Gavia is spectacular. Livigno - Bormio - Prad is a nice route to ride but I think not the best to race with super fast descent to Bormio and a long but mild climb up Stelvio. I don't expect much action there as Stelvio is too early in the stage to make breakaway attractive there.

There are so many nice climbs and roads in Dolomites. I think the previous year stage which went through Passo Giau, Cortina d'Ampezzo and ended up on Tre Cime Lavaredo was so much better.

I was also hoping for something around Garda Lake. So many nice climbs there (Monte Velo from previous edition and Passo Durone as two examples).

I've spent 6 weeks riding in those areas this year and was hoping Giro covers them better as 2023 edition has done. There are multiple opportunities for double or triple climb finishes which were missed. Personally I am disappointed!
 
They’ve got the pacing much better than the last few years, but the mountain stages leave quite a bit to be desired. TTing looks good, but it’s probably missing a nice muito or medium mountain stage in place of one of the same-y sprints. I’ll give it a 6.

If only stage 17 was a proper Dolomites queen stage, that would’ve bumped up the rating considerably…
 
Horrible. They just can't help it, can't they?
The real stages start in Stage 15. If we consider them hard enough.

- Backloading again
- Too many flat stages.

I give it a 4. I might change my mind if someone shows me otherwise but it could be lower than this. Just horrible.

I think it's a but unfair to say that the route is backloaded.

On one hand it sort of is, but then the longest ITT of the race is in the first block of stages, there are 3 MTFs in the first 10 days (none super hard admittedly, but still more than Giro usually has), Sappada is a bit of breakaway stage and while Grappa stage is hard, I feel it will be less of a blocker for the race than a Fedaia MTF or ridiculous MTT like this year.
 
I think it's a but unfair to say that the route is backloaded.

On one hand it sort of is, but then the longest ITT of the race is in the first block of stages, there are 3 MTFs in the first 10 days (none super hard admittedly, but still more than Giro usually has), Sappada is a bit of breakaway stage and while Grappa stage is hard, I feel it will be less of a blocker for the race than a Fedaia MTF or ridiculous MTT like this year.

it's only not backloaded because the stages in the 3rd week all suck except for one
 
Stage 1: Nice Stage, shame it's in Turin
Stage 2: Roglic Stage but on stage 2 it's cool why not
Stage 3: sprint
Stage 4: sprint
Stage 5: again sprint. :(
Stage 6: sprint on a sterrato Stage:(
Stage 7: ok nice, a tt in perugia before mountains Stage.
Stage 8: Not too bad but nothing will happen before prat di tivo
Stage 9: good length and I think will be better than expected. I like naples
Stage 10: well its another Roglic Stage instead of a mountain stage. Nothing will happen till 3km
Stage 11: sprint
Stage 12: could be fun. Classics style.
Stage 13: sprint
Stage 14: Nice that the 2nd and flat ITT is before the mountains, not after
Stage 15: wish they did easier climb after forcola and wish there was another hard climb before forcola. But it's a good and hard stage to have before rest day and after TT. Also good distance.
Stage 16: good length after rest day but a waste of stelvio and the area. It's OK but meh
Stage 17: not hard enough climbs.
Stage 18: typical last week restday, why not
Stage 19: I don't mind this, cool finish. But the stage should be harder and longer before grappa
Stage 20: the best stage
Stage 21: what's the point?


Nothing will happen on the mountains stages before stage 15. They are all too much like roglic stages, uniporto. Then stage 17 + 19 aren't hard enough and stage 16 it's a waste. Come on guys.
 
Positives:
- The first two days are good.
- Almost 70 km of flat-ish ITT
- Stage 15 and 20 are good mountain stages. Stage to Livigno is 220 km long and the toughest climb is the penultimate climb so GC riders will have to attack farther from the finish. I like that stage 20 is not a stage that is simply going to be decided in the last 3 km. At least we have to tune in earlier.
- Stage 17 is also a low-key good mountain stage.
- Not as backloaded as the past few years.

Negatives:
- Sterrato stage is so disappointing. It's practically going to be a bunch sprint.
- Tackling the Stelvio and having it summit at 150 km to go is a freaking joke. It's a complete waste of a Cima Coppi. The rest of the stage is underwhelming too. I think it's going to be a break winning and a 20 rider peloton sprinting for the minor places.
- The queen stage (stage 15), while good, is not as difficult as other queen stages in the past.
- Too many sprint stages (Count 8 that IMO, are almost certain to be sprint finishes).

6/10 for me. Could have been better.
 
6/10. Average route, an iconic climb in a good location is missing here. Stelvio is wasted. Dolomites not good. Forcola di Livigno is a monster though - it's basically 1900 vertical meters uphill (with 6-7 flat kilometers inside) and hopefully it will deliver fireworks! Double Monte Grappa is also spectacular. Those two stages are really promising. Also good start of the race. Almost 70 km of TTs, they want to have Remco again.
 
At first glance, there's not much that I like about this route (the Livigno and Grappa stages look nice and I also like the first few stages, but that's about it).

We have a 37 km ITT, then a full week with two MTFs that are not too hard and no medium mountain stages, and then it's an ITT again. They could've at least shifted the second time-trial to the mid or end of the last week.

The Stelvio stage is awful. Why use Stelvio and then put a 100 km flat/downhill section behind it? The only positive thing is that in case that Stelvio is impassable, it is very unlikely to affect the outcome of the stage.

Edit: I haven't empirically analyzed it, so I might be wrong. But while the Giro seemed to be plastered with medium mountain stages during the mid-2000s (tailored to Di Luca, for instance), nowadays it feels like the Giro does not make use of the hilly terrain in many regions at all.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Sandisfan
I immediately gave it 4, but its prolly 5-6. Its just pretty average and vanilla all around.

However, I am pretty happy about the fact that it wont be backloaded this year, and stage 15 will hopefully be a banger. Also plus points for riding through some climbs I havent seen before on that stage. And of course, Monte Grappa will be one of the better days of cycling next year unless we get treated to a Roglic-Thomas duel.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sandisfan
I gave it a 6, decent pacing, no boring start and they remember to put TTs in.
But it's also underwelming because, with a little more effort, a lot of stages, especially in the last week could have been better.
Better than 2021 and better pacing than this year.
I hope the final ramp in the Mottolino geht's cancelled (have they even paved It already?), that would bump the Rating Up a bit.

Maaaybe a weak 7 Overall ...
Apparently not yet, and, while I'm no costructin expert, i would agree that planning to asphalt a road in a late autmun or spring in the high mountain is not a smart idea, so they have do it pretty quickly
 
4/10

Positives:
the first two days are very good
we have a 220k mountain stage
good amount of TT
Grappa stage is very good

Negatives:
lots of weak ass mountain stages with "decisive" climbs that aren't hard enough
sterrato stage is pointless
no medium mountain stages
too many junior length stages

letting it sit for a few hours, 4 is too high. comparing it to some recent routes (especially 2019 and 2020), it's a complete joke. it's horrible. who even cares if it has a 220km mountain stage when everything before the last 40k is completely pointless? the whole race is clearly sold out to whichever towns want to pay the most money to host stage finishes. nobody should accept this garbage.
 
  • Like
Reactions: KOM and Sandisfan
Don't really think its backloaded at all. This is the best we can get in terms of not backloading I think.
It's backloaded in the sense that, the first real mountain stage is the stage 15.
They tried to not backload that much this year, but the stages of oropa, prati di tivo and bocca della selva are weak unipuerto stages.

This route have a really good first stage, and stage 15 (livigno's stage) and the stage of grappa. That's the only positive things in this route.


The tour france 2022 was an example of how not backload the route even if they could have done better in some stages like the stage of col du grand colombier. I really liked that route. Unfortunately the tour france 2023 will also be backloaded like the giro 2023, if the rumours are true.

In terms of TT kms, 69 km, it's a good amount, but i would like that the routes of the grands tours could do again ITTs of about 60 km.
It's better doing just one ITT of 60 instead of 2 ITTs of 30 km. They "save" a stage.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sandisfan
I gave it a 6, decent pacing, no boring start and they remember to put TTs in.
But it's also underwelming because, with a little more effort, a lot of stages, especially in the last week could have been better.

Apparently not yet, and, while I'm no costructin expert, i would agree that planning to asphalt a road in a late autmun or spring in the high mountain is not a smart idea, so they have do it pretty quickly
We're talkin about RCS under Vegni, iit wouldn't surprise me if it ended up being a fail. Let's hope that this time someone is paying the Swiss extra money to open the Forcola di Livigno pass early for the race...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sandisfan