The Giro d'Italia has officially begun. The national cycling event that will keep us glued to the screen from 4th to 26th of May is one of the most prestigious road stage races and is part of the three Grand Tours together with the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España.
It was founded in 1909 by La Gazzetta dello Sport and the first edition was won by Luigi Ganna.
During the Giro d'Italia, riders compete for several distinctive jerseys. The pink jersey is worn by the leader of the general classification, the cyclamen jersey (purple) by the leader of the points classification, the blue jersey (blue) by the leader of the climbers' classification and the white jersey (white) by the best young rider.
This year's edition includes 3386.7 km, 44,450 metres of altitude difference, which will cross our peninsula in a total of 20 stages.
The stages that will affect our region, Veneto, are stage number 18 starting from Fiera di Primiero and arriving in Padua and stage number 20 from Alpago to Bassano del Grappa.
The Fiera di Primiero-Padua stage is a flat one. It starts in Trentino at the foot of the Pale di San Martino in the small village of Fiera di Primiero, famous in the past for its mines. The route is all downhill as far as Feltre, then winds through the land of Prosecco, Treviso, the Venetian hinterland, the Brenta Riviera with its historic Palladian villas, until it reaches Prato della Valle in Padua.
The start of stage number 20 is scheduled in Alpago, the gateway to the Belluno Dolomites, arriving in Bassano del Grappa at the foot of the massif of the same name, a place of historical significance where the First World War was fought.
This will be a particularly technical and difficult stage where there will be no shortage of significant gradients and slopes, and which includes the double ascent of Monte Grappa.
The Giro d'Italia is a celebration of sport, culture and the Italian landscape, and continues to capture the imagination of cycling fans around the world.
