YOUR 2021 GIRO D’ITALIA GUIDE
The 104th edition of the Giro d’Italia marks the return of La Corsa Rosa to its traditional season. The 23 team Grande Partenza [Grand Depart/Start] leaves Turin on the 8th of May and should conclude with the final stage in Milan on the 30th of May.
RACE 18 of 33
Like the previous year, the global pandemic has had an influence on the race, as it looks to avoid the areas of Italy that are still managing the rapid spread of the Coronavirus. However, this has not deterred the organisers from putting together a Grand Tour that embraces its historic heritage and a route that will provide opportunities to shine for all in the field of 184 cyclists.
THE ROUTE
The race begins with the traditional Individual Time Trial opening stage [9km], a prequel to the 21 stage three-week long journey through 3 450.4 kilometers of Italian roads, as the riders pedal for the Maglia Rosa jersey come Milan.
The race is scheduled to trek around the northern parts of Italy with brief visits to Slovenia and Switzerland (during stages) before returning to home soil.
Stage 9, 14, 17, 19 and 20 will provide the sternest test for the riders, featuring in a list of seven major mountainous stages, with a couple of stages that include gravel road sections. The sprinters will have plenty chances to test their speed too, with a handful of opportunities to collect points along the routes.
Stage 16, from Sacile to Cortina d'Ampezzo has been given the queen stage label as riders will climb over 5 700 metres over the 212 km long stage (the second longest of this years edition) and despite there being no summit finish, this stage - which includes the extreme tappone - may decide who wears the Maglia Rosa come Milan.
The queen stage is set to climb the Passo Fedaia right onto the Passo Pordoi, and then the Passo Giau in the Dolomites before the eventual descent to the finish in Cortina d’Ampezzo. An epic test of both endurance and determination for those who dare dream in pink.
GC CONTENDERS
The field will be littered with talent aplenty, with the likes of Alexandr Vlasov, Jonathan Castroviejo, Mikel Landa, Gorka Izagirre, Luis Leon Sanchez, Dan Martin and Hugh Carthy. 2018 hopeful, Simon Yates will be hoping to go the full Monty having shown great form at the Tour of the Alps.
Romain Bardet will lead Team DSM, alongside 2020 runner-up Jai Hindley who will be hoping to repeat his heroics from six months ago. Egan Bernal will be hoping his back pain problems are a thing of the past, surrounded by a strong team as he contests for the overall prize.
For African hopes, Team Qhubeka Assos will be looking to Giacomo Nizzolo for their best chance at a stage victory, what will be the Italians first at the Giro. Peter Sagan, racing for Bora-Hansgrohe, may not have the legs on a straight dash against Caleb Ewan of Lotto Soudal but the three time world champion has the technical prowess to climb and that puts him in the running for points classification, always.
How it all unfolds and who brings what form on what stage - as the old adage says - only time will tell.
STAGE GUIDE
BROADCAST DETAILS
You never have to miss a pedal, SuperSport will bring you all the action from Italy, daily and LIVE on TV or to stream via DSTV Now: https://supersport.com/watch/home - check your TV Guide: https://supersport.com/tv-guide for details.
THE TEAMS
Organisers, RCS Sport, invited the 19 UCI WorldTour teams plus four-wildcard invitations for UCI ProTeams, including the best performing team from the 2020 season, Alpecin-Fenix.
Team Vini Zabù-Brado-KTM took the decision to withdraw their participation from the race after consecutive doping violation struggles, making room for Giro regular invitees and Italian continental competitors, Androni Giocattoli–Sidermec, to make another appearance having been initially snubbed for this years edition of the race.
THE TEAMS
AG2R CITRO?N TEAM - France
1. Francois Bidard [Fra]
2. Geoffrey Bouchard [Fra]
3. Clément Champoussin [Fra]
4. Tony Gallopin [Fra]
5. Alexis Gougeard [Fra]
6. Lawrence Naesen [Bel]
7. Andrea Vendrame [Ita]
8. Larry Warbasse [USA]
ASTANA-PREMIER TECH - Kazakstan
1. Samuele Battistella [Ita]
2. Fabio Felline [Ita]
3. Gorka Izagirre [Esp]
4. Vadim Pronskiy [Kaz]
5. Luis Leon Sanchez [Esp]
6. Matteo Sobrero [Ita]
7. Harold Tejada [Col]
8. Aleksandr Vlasov [RUS]
ALPECIN-FENIX - Belgium
1. Oscar Riesebeek [Ned]
2. Gianni Vermeersch [Bel]
3. Alexander Krieger [Ger]
4. Tim Merlier [Bel]
5. Louis Vervaeke [Bel]
6. Senne Leysen [Bel]
7. Jimmy Janssens [Bel]
8. Dries De Bondt [Bel]
ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI-SIDERMEC - Italy
1. Simon Pellaud [Swi]
2. Natnael Tesfatsion [Eri]
3. Filippo Tagliani [Ita]
4. Andrii Ponomar [Ukr]
5. Nicola Venchiarutti [Ita]
6. Eduardo Sepúlveda [Arg]
7. Jefferson Alexander Cepeda [Ecu]
8. Simone Ravanelli [Ita]
BARDIANI-CSF-FAIZANè - Italy
1. Davide Gabburo [Ita]
2. Alessandro Tonelli [Ita]
3. Filippo Fiorelli [Ita]
4. Umberto Marengo [Ita]
5. Samuele Zoccarato [Ita]
6. Enrico Battaglin [Ita]
7. Filippo Zana [Ita]
8. Giovanni Visconti [Ita]
TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS - Bahrain
1. Jan Tratnik [Slo]
2. Mikel Landa Meana [Spa]
3. Matej Mohori? [Slo]
4. Yukiya Arashiro [Jap]
5. Rafael Valls [Spa]
6. Gino Mader [Sui]
7. Pello Bilbao [Spa]
8. Damiano Caruso [Ita]
TEAM BIKE EXCHANGE - Australia
1. Michael Hepburn [Aus]
2. Chris Juul-Jensen [Den]
3. Tanel Kangert [Est]
4. Cameron Meyer [Aus]
5. Mikel Nieve [Spa]
6. Nick Schultz [Aus]
7. Callum Scotson [Aus]
8. Simon Yates [GBR]
BORA-HANSGROHE - Germany
1. Giovanni Aleotti [Ita]
2. Cesare Benedetti [Ita]
3. Maciej Bodnar [Pol]
4. Emanuel Buchmann [Ger]
5. Matteo Fabbro [Ita]
6. Felix Gro?schartner [Aut]
7. Daniel Oss [Ita]
8. Peter Sagan [Slo]
COFIDIS - France
1. Natnael Teweldemedhin Berhane [Eri]
2. Fabio Sabatini [Ita]
3. Rémy Rochas [Fra]
4. Nicolas Edet [Fra]
5. Elia Viviani [Ita]
6. Victor Lafay [Fra]
7. Simone Consonni [Ita]
8. Attilio Viviani [Ita]
DECEUNINCK-QUICK-STEP - Belgium
1. Iljo Keisse [Bel]
2. Remco Evenepoel [Bel]
3. Pieter Serry [Bel]
4. James Knox [GBR]
5. Mikkel Fr?lich Honore [Den]
6. Remi Cavagna [Fra]
7. Fausto Masnada [Ita]
8. Jo?o Almeida [Por]
TEAM DSM - Germany
1. Nicolas Roche [Ire]
2. Jai Hindley [Aus]
3. Max Kanter [Ger]
4. Nikias Arndt [Ger]
5. Romain Bardet [Fra]
6. Nico Denz [Ger]
7. Michael Storer [Aus]
8. Chris Hamilton [Aus]
EF EDUCATION-NIPPO - United States
1. Simon Carr [GBR]
2. William Barta [USA]
3. Alberto Bettiol [Ita]
4. Jens Keukeleire [Bel]
5. Hugh Carthy [GBR]
6. Jonathan Caicedo [Ecu]
7. Ruben Guerreiro [Por]
8. Tejay van Garderen [USA]
EOLO-KOMETA - Italy
1. Lorenzo Fortunato [Ita]
2. Edward Ravasi [Ita]
3. Francesco Gavazzi [Ita]
4. Mark Christian [GBR]
5. Manuel Belletti [Ita]
6. Márton Dina [Hun]
7. Samuel Rivi [Ita]
8. Vincenzo Albanese [Ita]
GROUPAMA-FDJ - France
1. Matteo Badilatti [Sui]
2. Antoine Duchesne [Can]
3. Simon Guglielmi [Fra]
4. Rudy Molard [Fra]
5. Sébastien Reichenbach [Sui]
6. Romain Seigle [Fra]
7. Attila Valter [Hun]
8. Lars van den Berg [Ned]
TEAM INEOS GRENADIERS - Great Britain
1. Egan Bernal [Col]
2. Jonathan Castroviejo [Spa]
3. Filippo Ganna [Ita]
4. Daniel Martínez [Col]
5. Gianni Moscon [Ita]
6. Jhonatan Narváez [Ecu]
7. Salvatore Puccio [Ita]
8. Pavel Sivakov [Rus]
INTERMARCHé-WANTY-GOBERT MATéRIAUX - Belgium
1. Quinten Hermans [Bel]
2. Jan Hirt [Cze]
3. Wesley Kreder [Ned]
4. Riccardo Minali [Ita]
5. Andrea Pasqualon [Ita]
6. Simone Petilli [Ita]
7. Rein Taaram?e [Est]
8. Taco van der Hoorn [Ned]
ISRAEL START-UP NATION - Israel
1. Davide Cimolai [Ita]
2. Krists Neilands [Lat]
3. Guy Niv [Isr]
4. Alessandro De Marchi [Ita]
5. Alex Dowsett [GBR]
6. Daniel Martin [Ire]
7. Patrick Bevin [NZ]
8. Matthias Br?ndle [Aut]
LOTTO-SOUDAL - Belgium
1. Jasper De Buyst [Bel]
2. Thomas De Gendt [Bel]
3. Caleb Ewan [Aus]
4. Kobe Goossens [Bel]
5. Roger Kluge [Ger]
6. Tomasz Marczyński [Pol]
7. Stefano Oldani [Ita]
8. Harm Vanhoucke [Bel]
MOVISTAR TEAM - Spain
1. Marc Soler [ESP]
2. Matteo Jorgenson [USA]
3. Einer Rubio [COL]
4. Nelson Oliveira [POR]
5. Dario Cataldo [ITA]
6. Albert Torres [ESP]
7. Davide Villella [ITA]
8. Antonio Pedrero [ESP]
TEAM JUMBO-VISMA - Netherlands
1. George Bennett [NZ]
2. Edoardo Affini [Ita]
3. Koen Bouwman [NED]
4. David Dekker [NED]
5. Jos van Emden [NED]
6. Tobias Foss [Nor]
7. Paul Martens [Ger]
8. Dylan Groenewegen [NED]
TEAM QHUBEKA ASSOS - South Africa
1. Giacomo Nizzolo [Ita]
2. Max Walscheid [Ger]
3. Mauro Schmid [Swi]
4. Bert-Jan Lindeman [Ned]
5. Victor Campenaerts [Bel]
6. Lukasz Wisniowski [Pol]
7. Domenico Pozzovivo [Ita]
8. Kilian Frankiny [Swi]
TREK-SEGAFREDO - United States
1. Koen de Kort [NED]
2. Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier Werkilu [Eri]
3. Jacopo Mosca [Ita]
4. Giulio Ciccone [Ita]
5. Matteo Moschetti [Ita]
6. Bauke Mollema [NED]
7. Gianluca Brambila [Ita]
8. Vincenzo Nibali [Ita]
UAE TEAM EMIRATES - United Arab Emirates
1. Valerio Conti [Ita]
2. Alessandro Covi [Ita]
3. Joe Dombrowski [USA]
4. Davide Formolo [Ita]
5. Fernando Gaviria [Col]
6. Sebastian Molano [Col]
7. Maximiliano Richeze [Arg]
8. Diego Ulissi [Ita]