Giro d’Italia 2017: route overview

Starting on Sardinia on Friday May 5, with three stages for the sprinters and rouleurs to get their teeth into and compete for a chance to wear the maglia rosa, the race then transfers to Sicily after the first rest day.

There, a summit finish on Mount Etna provides an early test for the climbers, while Messinah – birthplace of defending champion Vincenzo Nibali – hosts the finale of stage five.

The race then travels from the southern tip of Italy north to the Alps for a climb-laden final week, but not before the summit finish of Blockhaus on stage nine before the second rest day, and a hilly 39.2km individual time trial the day racing resumes.

The Passo del Tonale is the highest point of stage 17, while the triple ascent of the Passo Pordoi, Passo Valparola and Passo Gardena will mean it will be a very select group competing for the stage win at Pontives on stage 18.

Further climbing tests include the Passo di Monte Croce Comelico and Monte Grappa on the next two stages, before the race concludes with a 28km time trial in Milan.

Key stages

Stage four – Cefalu to Mount Etna, 180km

By sticking the first mountain-top finish at the end of the fourth day, organisers RCS Sport have set a big challenge for the GC men – fail to prepare properly, and you could see your hopes of victory slip away before the race even reaches mainland Italy.

The start from Cefalu is flat, before the 31km ascent of the Portella Fermina Morta – a climb with an average gradient of five per cent and some sectors reaching as high as 13 per cent to test the legs before Etna.

What goes up, must come down as they say and after a 25km-long descent there’s some lumpy stuff to negotiate before the final climb starts at Nicolosi.

The climb to Rifugio Sapienza covers more than 1300 vertical metres in 18km – a punishing average gradient of 7.2 per cent which is sure to catch some riders out if they’ve not managed to come out of the spring in top form.

Stage ten – Foligno to Montefalco

It goes without saying the second of the two time trials, on the final day, could be make or break for those battling for the maglia rosa but the first time trial, on stage ten, is also an opportunity to open some gaps.

Arriving the day after the second rest day, the GC men will have had chance to recover from their efforts on Blockhaus, but the maglia rosa could well change hands again on stage ten.

Racing from Foligno to Montefalco, the 39.2km course features two distinct hills – to San Marco at kilometre 15 and to Le Corone, where the second time check will be taken.

There’s also an uphill finish to Montefalco to contend with and, given the distance of the stage, there’s potential for some of the more out-and-out climbers to cede a good few minutes on the course to those more adept at riding their TT bikes, such as Tom Dumoulin.

Stage 11 – Firenze (Ponte a Ema) to Bagno di Romagna

While the biggest mountains are reserved for the final week, there is little let-up in the action in the second week either, with four Apennines climbs packed into stage 11 from Firenze to Bagno di Romagna.

Any over-exertion in the time trial could come back to haunt the riders with the climbing starting just 15.5km into the stage with the Passo della Consuma.

The climb is 15.7km long with an average gradient of 5.7 per cent, and is then followed by the 16km Passo della Calla which shares a similar average gradient.

Next on the menu is the shorter Sella di Raggio ascent and a first entry into Bagno di Romagna before the riders head up the Monte Fumaiolo.

The Fumaiolo has a modest average gradient which belies its harder sections towards the summit, which could provide the perfect platform for an attack before the long descent to the finish line.

Stage 14 – Castallania to Oropa

Stage 14 is another slightly odd stage in that it’s almost completely pan-flat until the final climb, up Oropa.

But that climb is a true sting in the tail of this stage, with an erratic gradient along the 11.8km length – creating an average of seven per cent but sections – certainly halfway up – that are nearer to double that.

It’s a short stage too, at just 131km, so expect a rapid pace for the first 120km as the GC teams look to put pressure on their rivals and vie for good road position for the final climb.

Marco Pantani’s solo win on stage 15 of the 1999 race, before he was later removed from the race – while in the pink jersey – because of his excessive haematocrit level, came atop Oropa.

Stage 18 – Moena to Ortisei/St.Ulrich

It would be easy to pick all six of the final stages as key stages, and with five back-to-back mountain stages before the time trial into Milan, the truth is they all will be pivotal.

The time differences are likely to open up in the mountains, but with the prospect of the time trial to come, the race for pink could go down to the wire.

Of the Dolomites stages, it’s stage 18 which looks the most intriguing, however.

At 137km long it’s a short stage but the climbs are packed in – with the Pordoi, Valparola, Gardena and Pinei all to be climbed – more than 4,000m elevation in all.

The stage then concludes with the climb up Pontives to Ortisei – it’s a day where the GC men should look to apply the pressure on their rivals from the off, with plenty of chances for a move to stick and time gaps to open up.

Team Sky have been caught out a couple of times now when the racing has been hard from the off, and if Geraint Thomas and/or Mikel Landa are still in contention overall on stage 18, they will need to be attentive from the flag.