Giro d'Italia

Despite three brutal mountain stages -the one towards Crans Montana (st. 13; Friday 19th May); the Monte Bondone (st. 16; Tuesday 23rd) and, above them all, the one to the Tre Cime di Lavaredo (st. 19; Friday 26th), with 5,400m elevation gain- appearing as crucial to the final outcome of the 106th Giro d’Italia, the 2023 ‘Corsa Rosa’ will be way more than that. That is further accentuated in the Movistar Team’s case, the Blues bringing, for arguably the first time in their history, a top sprinter to the start list, Fernando Gaviria, ready to fight from day one for some of the most coveted bunch finishes in the calendar.

It’s necessary, other than those ‘tapponi’ in the north of the country, to mention the three individual time trials held this year. The opening one, almost 20km in the so-called Costa dei Trabocchi, in the Marche region (Saturday 6th), will have some slopes near the finish; the one on day nine, Sunday 14th, from Savignano to Cesena, will be perfect for specialists and the longest, over 35km; and the decisive one, Saturday 27th, will be spectacular: 18km from Tarvisio, next to the Slovenian border, to the top of the Monte Lussari, after more than 5km uphill above 15% (!!!) and another two kilometers at 7-8% to end.

Between all of those will be what makes distinguishable and extraordinary a race considered by many to be the toughest in the world. Gaviria’s chances on week one will be no less than four: San Salvo (Sunday 7th), Melfi (Monday 8th), Salerno (Wednesday 10th) and Napoli (Thursday 11th). There will be a first selective finish atop the Lago Laceno, on Tuesday 9th; another really long climb, the Gran Sasso, on Friday 12th; and a typical ‘Tirreno day’, full of tough slopes, in the I Cappuccini climb and the Fossombrone area (Saturday 13th), just before the second ITT.

The second week still leaves some margin for the ‘volate’, but it will depend more on teams having strength and will to control things in the bunch. The finishes in Viareggio (Tuesday 16th) and Tortona (Wednesday 17th) are well suited to the sprint, while it will be tougher in Rivoli (Thursday 18th), with the Colle Braida (Cat-2) 27km before the end, and Cassano Magnago (Saturday 20th), as the Sempione (Cat-1) is climbed close to the start, making the fight for the break probably fierce and the forces to chase behind scarce after the ascent. The Bergamo stage (day 15; Sunday 21st) will, on the other hand, be surely spectacular, with the final passage through the Città Alta, and should be for a breakaway specialist.

After the second rest day, only two more chances will be left for the sprints: Caorle (Wednesday 24th), on a completely flat and wind-exposed area next to Venezia -another mountain day comes at Val di Zoldo on Thursday-; and, of course, the beautiful Roma circuit (Sunday 28th), ending at the Via dei Fori Imperiali where Alejandro Valverde won in 2014. The city loop will be difficult, though, with lots of turns and some ‘lastricato’ cobbles. Week three, with all mountains climbed and to cover, is more of an unknown for those going for the sprints.