A Strategic Move to Attract the Star Pogačar: This Year’s Giro Will Be Exceptional

This year’s Giro d’Italia will briefly pass through Slovenia, the home country of reigning champion Tadej Pogačar.

While Pogačar is focused on defending his Tour de France title, he has yet to confirm whether his second Grand Tour of the season will be the Giro or the Vuelta a España. Today, organizers unveiled the route for the 108th edition of the race in Rome.

The Giro will run from May 9 to June 1, with a historic start in Albania. The opening stage, a 164-kilometer hilly route, will take riders from the port city of Durrës to Tirana, followed by a 13.7-kilometer time trial in the Albanian capital. The third stage, another undulating route, will start and finish in Vlorë, covering 160 kilometers. This marks the 15th time the Giro has started outside Italy and the first time since 2022, when the race began in Budapest.

A Strategic Move to Attract Pogačar

Stage 14 will take the peloton into Slovenia for a 40-kilometer stretch before finishing in Nova Gorica. According to AFP, this could be a strategic move to entice Pogačar to participate, though he may opt for the Vuelta, the only Grand Tour he has yet to win.

The first two weeks will feature several challenging stages, including Stage 9 from Gubbio to Siena, which includes a 30-kilometer gravel section made famous by the Strade Bianche classic. In Stage 11, riders will tackle the climb to Alpe San Pellegrino, reaching an altitude of 1,623 meters.

Grueling Final Week with Over 50,000 Meters of Climbing

The decisive mountain stages will come in the final week, taking place in northern Italy. The race will feature summit finishes in San Valentino (Stage 16), Bormio (Stage 17), Champoluc (Stage 19), and the crucial Stage 20 in Sestriere. This stage will include the race’s highest point, the formidable Colle delle Finestre, at 2,178 meters.

Following a long transfer, the race will conclude on June 1 with a circuit stage in Rome, marking the third consecutive year the Giro has finished in the Italian capital. Riders will cover a total of 3,413 kilometers and face 52,500 meters of climbing—10,000 meters more than last year’s edition.