The Giro d’Italia is one of cycling’s three Grand Tours, along with the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. It is the first of the three week races of the cycling season, usually taking place in May into early June.
As you might expect, the race predominantly takes place within its home country of Italy, but has frequently visited other nations in its 103 editions so far, 2021 is the 104th edition.
The Giro is well known for its long, high mountain stages in the Alps and Dolomites, making famous names of climbs like the Passo dello Stelvio, Passo Gavia, Monte Zoncolan, Passo di Mortirolo, and Passo Giau among others. But the Giro is often decided by it’s testing time trials, with the 2020 edition featuring three, including one on the final day.
Anyone hoping to win the Giro overall will also need to navigate numerous sprint stages and medium mountain stages, which offer up opportunities to riders looking for prestigious individual stage wins that can define careers.