'A demanding route' – mountain time trial and Alpine finale star in Giro d'Italia Women 2027 course

A tough Alpine finale will define the 2027 Giro d'Italia Women, it became clear on Tuesday, as organiser RCS revealed a "demanding route" for the race's 38th edition.

Unveiled in a ceremony inside Rome's Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, the nine-day route will be contained entirely in Italy's north-west, counting 1,132km in total, and 17,450m of elevation – a more than 5,000m increase on the 2026 route, won by FDJ United-SUEZ'S Demi Vollering.

It will culminate in a mountain time trial and gruelling final stage around Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps.

The race will begin on 29 May in Viareggio, a coastal city in Tuscany on Italy’s Ligurian coast. It will then head north, along the coast, for a stage finish in Genoa on stage two, before turning inland and north into Lombardy.

Announcing the route, Luca Guercilena, the new head of cycling at RCS, declared: "The riders will have to fight on the climbs."

The first mountains test will come on stage four, which counts four classified climbs and the first of two summit finishes, this time on the Passo della Presolana (11km at 5.4%) at 1,300m altitude.

The sprinters will then have their chance in Cassano d'Adda on stage five, before a day ranked five out of five stars for difficulty; stage six will pass over the Passo San Marco – which rises to almost 2,000 altitude, the race's highest point – and finish on the Passo dello Spluga on the Swiss border.

After a flat finish into Rho on stage seven, the race will enter its Alpine finale in the Aosta Valley.

Stage eight will be a 11km mountain time trial, climbing from the gun for a total elevation of 650m. This follows the success of 2026's uphill time trial in the Dolomites, which SD Worx-Protime's Anna van der Breggen won by more than a minute, shaking up the general classification.

The race organiser has dubbed the final stage the 'Monte Bianco stage', which, like stage six, is graded five stars for difficulty. Stage nine will climb almost 4,000m of elevation over four classified climbs, including the Colle san Carlo (10.5km at 9.8%).

The finale will then tilt downhill, before a closing rise to the line on Mont Blanc, where the pink jersey will be decided.

Discover the full route map and stage details below.