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Punishing 2025 Giro to complete hat-trick of Roma climaxes

rugby13 January 2025 18:42| © AFP
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The Giro d'Italia will once again finish in Rome this year after the Grand Tour begins for the first time in Albania and then leads the peloton through a punishing 21 stages.

Rome will host the closing stage of the Giro for the third year in a row, with the riders taking part in a flat procession stage on June 1 which will finish with eight laps around the Eternal City's ancient Roman ruins.

By that point the hard work will have already been done for those contesting the pink jersey for the overall winner, claimed last year in emphatic fashion by cycling superstar Tadej Pogacar, with a gruelling final week across Italy's northern mountain ranges awaiting the peloton.

In total the 2025 Giro will feature 52 200 metres of climbing, over 10 000m more than last year's edition, over the 3 413 kilometres of riding.

The Giro will begin on 9 May in Albanian coastal city Durres, from where riders will race 164km over three climbs on their way to capital Tirana, which will host a 13.7km individual time trial for the second stage.

Riders will depart Albania, where controversial Italian-run migrant processing centres became operational in October, following the difficult third stage which starts and finishes in Vlore, before riders snake their way up mainland Italy from Lecce in the deep south.

The Giro will exit Italy's borders again at the end of Stage 14, with riders travelling from Treviso to Nova Gorica in Pogacar's native Slovenia.

Almost all of this year's extra 10km of climbing come in the two stages before the climax in Rome, with a punchy stage 19 testing riders with three category one climbs in the 166km between Biella and Champoluc.

The penultimate stage 20 is the scene of the highest Colle delle Finistre climb which features 8km of gravel roads, before the peloton reaches Sestiere near Italy's alpine border with France.

Elisa Longo Borghini's Giro d'Italia Women title will be up for grabs over eight stages between July 6-13, with the race finishing at the world-famous Formula One race track in Imola.

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