Giro d'Italia

Dates: Saturday, May 8-30
Stages: 21
Length: 3450km
Start: Torino (Turin)
Finish: Milan
TV Coverage (UK): Eurosport, GCN Race Pass

Giro d'Italia 2021: what's happened so far?

Stage eight - Foggia - Guardia Sanframondi 

Stage eight of the Giro d'Italia saw the breakaway triumph once again with Frenchman Victor Lafay taking Cofidis' first victory at the Giro d'Italia in 11 years after going solo on the final category four climb.

Attila Valter (Groupama-FDJ) retained the lead in the general classification with no significant splits amongst the main favourites on the final climb.

Stage seven - Notaresco to Termoli (181km)

Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) doubled up on stage wins with a sensational effort on stage seven of the Giro d'Italia, following an early sprint from Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) before round the Colombian and winning clear on the line.

Attila Valter (Groupama-FDJ) retained the overall lead after finishing safely in the main peloton.

Stage six - Grotte di Frasassi to Ascoli Piceno, San Giacomo (160km)

Stage six of the 2021 Giro d'Italia saw the first mountains day proper, with the pink jersey changing hands by the end of the stage. Attila Valter (Groupama-FDJ) took over the lead of the GC after Alessandro De Marchi (Israel Start-Up Nation) was dropped midway through the stage.

Gino Mader (Bahrain-Victorious) took the stage victory from the day's main breakaway, with Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) finishing second as he led home the first group of GC favourites that also contained Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation), Remco Evenpoel (Deceuninck-Quick-Step), and Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo).

Stage five - Modena to Cattolica

Stage five of the Giro d'Italia was, for the most part, a quiet day for the peloton on the flat parcours. The closing kilometres on the twisty, technical roads to the finish provided plenty of drama though, with numerous crashes which saw the abandonments of GC contender Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious).

It was Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) who was able to triumph in the sprint finish however, making a late dart to the line to beat Giacomo Nizzolo (Qhubeka-Assos) into second. Alessandro De Marchi (Israel Start-Up Nation) retained the overall lead after finishing safely in the main bunch.

Stage four - Piacenza to Sestola (187KM)

Joe Dombrowski (UAE Team Emirates) took a long-awaited Grand Tour stage victory in the rain-soaked fourth stage of the 2021 Giro, soloing from the day's main breakaway on the final climb in Sestola. His fellow escapee Alessandro De Marchi (Israel Start-Up Nation), who finished second, did enough to overturn his deficit in GC and move into the overall lead.

Amongst the GC contenders, João Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) was the biggest casualty as he lost around four minutes to his key rivals. His team-mate Remco Evenepoel was unable to follow when the likes of Egan Bernal (Ineos) and Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious) attacked, eventually losing 11 seconds to them along with Simon Yates (BikeExchange). 

Stage three - Biella to Canale (190km)

Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) successfully held on to his pink jersey after a tricky hilly stage at the Giro d'Italia, that looked to suit those sprinters who could hold their own on the shorter climbs.

But the early breakaway was able to take their opportunity to hold off the peloton and the sprinters within, with Dutchman Taco van der Hoorn going solo in the final 8km to hold on for stage victory by just four seconds.

Stage two - Stupinigi to Novara (179km)

Belgium's Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix) took sprint victory on the flat second stage of the 2021 Giro, taking his maiden victory on his debut at the race. The former Belgian champion beat Giacomo Nizzolo (Qhubeka-Assos) and Elia Viviani (Cofidis) to the line with a powerful effort.

Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) held on to the race lead after safely finishing in the main peloton.

Stage one - Turin to Turin - 8.6km (ITT)

The opening time trial of the 2021 Italian Grand Tour saw Filippo Ganna claim a second, consecutive first maglia rosa.

The world time trial champion was back in imperious form after looking out of sorts at a soaking wet and bitterly cold Tour de Romandie, posting the third fastest average speed in the history of the race, at 58.748km/h, although apparently the official course measurement was over-stated by 300m, reducing this record.

Another Italian, Jumbo-Visma's Edoardo Affini, finished second, 10 seconds off the winning pace, while his team-mate Tobias Foss was third, a further three seconds back.

Deceuninck - Quick-Step rounded out the top five, with João Almeida and Remi Cavagna, while Remco Evenepoel announced his comeback with an impressive seventh place.

Of the other GC contenders, Astana's Aleksandr Vlasov was the quickest, 24 seconds down on Ganna, while the likes of Hugh Carthy (EF-Nippo), Simon Yates (BikeExchange) and Egan Bernal (Ineos) were 15 seconds slower than the Russian, in an early sizing up of the candidates for the overall.

Giro d'Italia

The Giro d'Italia is the first of the Grand Tours, with the other three-week long races being the  Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. The riders tackle 21 stages around Italy with the event usually taking place in May.

Usually, the race takes place entirely within the borders of Italy but the 'Corsa Rosa' has held stages in other nations over its 103 editions. These include the likes of Denmark, Israel and France. 2021 is going to be the race's 104th edition.

This year, the race does take place entirely in Italy with it starting and finishing in the northwest of the country before snaking around almost all of the mainland during its 3450km voyage.

Italy's terrain is very varied and the race has taken on and made names of some of its best mountains like the Monte Zonccolan, Passo dello Stelvio, Colle dell'Angnello, Passo di Mortirolo and Passo Gavia as well as many more besides.

It is often the individual time trials that decide the race, though. In 2021 the race is bookended by the tests against the clock with one of stage one in Turin and one on stage 21 into Milan.

But you have to be in it to win it and anybody who hopes to take the pink jersey at the Giro will need to get through several sprint stages and medium mountain stages. These also give a chance for stage wins that can spark amazing careers

Last year's event was exceptionally close after Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers and Jai Hindley (Team DSM) went into the final time trial on exactly the same time.

Geoghegan Hart eventually came out on top winning the overall by 39 seconds over the Australian rider after a very strong time trial to close the race.

The British rider went into the race to support Geraint Thomas, who crashed out early on after hitting a bottle. Last year's edition introduced a whole new cast of Grand Tour riders with Geoghegan Hart, Hindley and João Almeida (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) looking like potential future winners.

Giro d'Italia 2021 route

Here is the route of the Giro d'Italia 2021, a total of eight mountain stages, two time trials, four flat sprint stages and six hilly days, the winner will need to be able to face it all to come out on top. For more information on each stage, go to our route page.

Read more: 

• Giro d’Italia 2021 route
• Giro d’Italia 2021 start list
• Giro d'Italia 2021 TV guide
• Giro d'Italia 2021 standings: the latest results

Past winners of the Giro d'Italia

2020 - Tao Geoghegan-Hart
2019 - Richard Carapaz
2018 - Chris Froome
2017 - Tom Dumoulin
2016 - Vincenzo Nibali
2015 - Alberto Contador
2014 - Nairo Quintana
2013 - Vincenzo Nibali
2012 - Ryder Hesjedal
2011 - Michele Scarponi
2010 - Ivan Basso
2009 - Denis Menchov
2008 - Alberto Contador
2007 - Danilo Di Luca
2006 - Ivan Basso
2005 - Paolo Savoldelli
2004 - Damiano Cunego
2003 - Gilberto Simoni
2002 - Paolo Savoldelli
2001 - Gilberto Simoni
2000 - Stefano Garzelli