From Albania to Rome - including a brief incursion into Slovenia at the end of the 14th stage, a nod to the current champion Tadej Pogacar but also to the already confirmed star for 2025, Primoz Roglic - a demanding and varied Giro, with fewer kilometers of time trial, featuring sterrato sections and passages through mythical climbs like Mortirolo, Finestre, or Sestriere.
This Monday, at the Auditorio Parco della Musica, with the presence of Urbano Cairo (president of RCS MediaGroup), Edi Rama (Prime Minister of Albania), Roberto Gualtieri (Mayor of Rome), and Antonio Tajani (Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs), among other authorities - and with Vicenzo Nibali and Alberto Contador as stars - the route of the Corsa Rosa was unveiled, its 108th edition, seeking a successor to Pogacar who, although not officially ruled out yet, will not be at the Grande Partenza on May 9. Roglic will be there, along with Juan Ayuso, Mikel Landa, Adam Yates, Nairo Quintana, Van Aert, Pello Bilbao, or Carapaz. And probably, the biggest attraction will be Jonas Vingegaard, who wanted to wait to see the route.
And there it is for the Danish climber, 52,000 meters of elevation gain (10,000 more than in 2024), with three mountain-top finishes, notably the penultimate stage, ending in Sestriere, the day the Colle delle Finestre is climbed, the Cima Coppi at 2,178 meters above sea level: 18 kilometers at 9.3% with the last eight on gravel, the same stage where Chris Froome wrote a historic page in 2018. There are four other very demanding high mountain stages, but also two time trials, one in Tirana on the second day and the 28.6 km individual time trial between Lucca and Pisa on the tenth day. And the sterrato of the Strade Bianche with a finish in Siena.
"When we talk about the Giro, there is always a lot of excitement. We are working to have great champions among the participants," Cairo announced.