The 109th Giro d’Italia starts Friday on the Black Sea in Bulgaria and finishes in Rome on May 31, opening the Grand Tour season with 21 stages, a single long time trial and seven summit finishes. After three sprint-friendly days in Bulgaria, the race heads to Italy for the first rest day and a full shift into GC territory.
Some of the big days
Stage 7 brings the first real test on the slopes of Blockhaus, followed by another uphill finish on Stage 9. A 40-km time trial on the Tuscan coast arrives after the second rest day, before the race tilts back into the mountains. Stage 14 returns to Pila for the first time in 30 years, then the final week ramps up hard with a Swiss mountain stage, a brutal alpine queen stage featuring Passo Giau, and a double ascent of Piancavallo on Stage 20 before Rome’s finale.
Derek Gee-West and the Giro
Derek Gee-West returns with Lidl-Trek after fourth last year, joined by Nick Zukowsky (Pinarello Q36.5), giving Canada two riders in the mix. It’s know exactly to say where Gee-West is at, but it will be clear soon.
Speaking to CyclingNews after abandoning Volta a Catalunya, Gee-West said: “I ended up just doing the training blocks at home, building up to this. I think for sure it’ll be a loss that I will feel towards the start of the race. But after two weeks of racing, I feel like it’s kind of a reset.”
Three weeks is a long time in a Grand Tour, and he’s expecting things to come around as the race goes on.
“Hopefully it’s not something I can never catch up to during the race, but for sure, it’s a blow. I’ll just try not to think about it too much, because I’m here now. To be honest, I’m pretty calm, pretty relaxed. When you don’t have the best run-in, it also kind of takes some pressure off.”
Zuke returns to Italy
Zukowsky, from Sainte-Lucie-des-Laurentides, Que., is back at the Giro. “I feel quite excited to be honest with you to head back,” he said, reflecting on a return to the race that ended early for him last year. “I feel like I have unfinished business after last year with how it went. So that was, yeah, not so nice.”
Meanwhile Jonas Vingegaard chases a Grand Tour Triple Crown, I mean, that’s not really a thing, (yet) but it would be if he pulls it off. With Tour de France wins and a Vuelta a España title already, the Giro is the missing piece.
In Canada, every stage streams live on FloBikes, the exclusive broadcaster. But good news if you miss it. Canadian Cycling…
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