2021 Giro d'Italia Race Preview
The details of this year's 2021 Giro d'Italia are falling into place. Find the latest route profiles and maps below, followed by our strategic preview of the race.
The 2021 Giro d'Italia promises to be one of the most hotly contested editions of the Italian grand tour in recent memory, with a startlist packed full of genuine contenders and a route that should produce racing of the highest order from the opening stages through to the final kilometres in Milan.
The race begins in Turin, a fitting location given that the city is marking the 160th anniversary of Italian unification, and the opening time trial should establish an early hierarchy among the overall favourites before the peloton heads into the mountains for what is sure to be a brutal three weeks of racing.
Egan Bernal arrives as the man to beat. The Colombian climber, who won the Tour de France in 2019, has identified the Giro as his primary objective this season and comes to the start line in excellent form. His Ineos Grenadiers team is formidably strong in support, and Bernal's ability in the high mountains makes him the favourite on paper. However, he has yet to fully prove himself over the gruelling demands of a three-week race since his Tour victory, and there will be no shortage of rivals looking to exploit any weaknesses.
Remo Evenepoel was originally considered a major threat but has withdrawn following his long recovery from injury sustained at Il Lombardia last year, which removes one of the most exciting young talents from the equation. In his absence, attention turns to Aleksandr Vlasov, Hugh Carthy, and the experienced Vincenzo Nibali, who will be desperate to put on a show in front of his home fans in what could be one of his final serious tilt at overall honours at the race he has won twice before.
Simon Yates represents arguably the most dangerous threat to Bernal. The British climber has unfinished business at the Giro after famously leading the 2018 edition before cracking dramatically in the final week. He has since matured considerably as a racer and arrives with BikeExchange looking to take the final step and claim the maglia rosa in Milan. His lightweight climbing style suits the Italian mountains perfectly, and a strong team around him makes him a serious contender throughout.
Aleksandr Vlasov and Giulio Ciccone will be looking to announce themselves on the grandest stage, while Dan Martin cannot be discounted given his ability on punishing climbs and his sheer racing intelligence accumulated over a long career at the top of the sport.
The route itself is demanding in a way that should suit the pure climbers. The race visits some iconic climbs, including the Zoncolan, one of the most feared ascents in professional cycling, with gradients that reduce even the best riders to a crawl. The final week in particular looks ferocious, with a series of high-altitude finishes that could completely reshape the overall standings even if the first two weeks have produced a relatively stable hierarchy at the top.
The time trial content is relatively limited, which arguably reduces the chances of a more complete rider taking overall victory and instead points toward one of the pure grimpeurs making their move in the mountains and defending it through sheer climbing ability rather than earning bonus time against the clock.
Weather is always an unpredictable factor in a race that takes place in May across the full length of the Italian peninsula, from the northern plains down into Sicily and then back north to the Alps. Snow and cold temperatures at altitude are a genuine possibility, and the race organisation has contingency plans in place should conditions on the higher passes become unrideable.
The sprint stages early in the race give the fastest men in the peloton their opportunities before the serious mountains take hold. Peter Sagan is among the names looking to add to his extensive palmares in bunch finishes, though the pure sprinters will be eager to take the stage wins that become available before the climbers inevitably take control of the narrative.
All things considered, this feels like an edition of the Giro that has the ingredients to produce genuinely memorable racing and potentially a tense overall battle that goes down to the final days. If Bernal is at his best he may prove unbeatable, but the unpredictable nature of three weeks of hard racing in Italy means that certainty is rarely possible, and the challengers have every reason to believe they can make this a contest that goes the full distance.
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