Giro d'Italia 2027 route to feature Mortirolo, Gavia and Zoncolan, but also two time trials

The 2027 men's Giro d'Italia could be a race for the climbers, with the Passo del Mortirolo, Passo Gavia and Monte Zoncolan all set to feature in the 110th edition.

Announced at a presentation in Rome on Tuesday, next May's Italian Grand Tour will be 3,418km long over 21 stages, with 50,250m of climbing, and features two individual time trials and opportunities for sprinters and puncheurs along the way.

The race will begin on Saturday 8 May in Trieste, Italy, before a quick hop to Slovenia. The race takes place mostly in the north of the country, with Naples the most southerly point, before a classic denouement in the Alps and Dolomites.

The Queen Stages comes on day 16, with the Gavia returning for the first time since 2014 as the Cima Coppi, the highest point of next year's race, between two ascents of the Mortirolo. There are seven summit finishes in total, four more than at the Tour de France, as the two races appear to head in different directions, although there is overall less climbing at the Giro.

However, as at next year's Tour, there will be two individual time trials, although these amount to 56.9km, less than the 71km in France. This could be seen as an attempt to attract Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), time trial world champion, or Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM), who won bronze in Montréal. The first ITT, however, is uphill.

There are lots of opportunities for fast finishers, although many of the flatter stages hide uphill finishes or nasty tests which could take the pure sprinters out of contention.

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) won in 2026, but is thought unlikely to return in 2027, along with Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). The door is therefore open, then, for someone else to join the Grand Tour winning club.

Week one

The Giro begins in the very north-east of Italy in Trieste, close to the border of Slovenia, where stage one could be won by a sprinter who can climb, or a climber who can sprint. Stage two is another hilly affair, wholly in Slovenia, before stage three is another day for the puncheurs, back in Italy.

Stage four, however, will likely be a mass sprint on a MotoGP circuit. However, the sprinters don't have it there way for long, with the first summit finish of the race on stage five, which finishes on the climb to Sarnano-Sassotetto, 13.1km at 7.4%. It should see an early shuffling of pink jersey contenders.

The next day, stage six, will likely be a day for the breakaway on the Adriatic coast, ahead of another GC battle on stage seven. It's a 19.6km individual time trial, with a climb involved, although not enough to weight this heavily in favour of mountain goats.

Stage eight sees the race finish in Naples again, with a finish which should be one for sprinters, but could easily go to a late attacker. The first week ends on Monte Livata, with 13.9km at 6.9% on stage nine. It's making its debut in the senior Giro.

Week two

The second week begins with a duo of climbs before a long descent on stage 10 favouring the brave, before stage 11 might look like a sprint stage, but a nasty climb could take out some of the fastest finishers.

The climbing resumes on stage 12, with a summit finish in the Appennines at at Zum Zeri (8.4km at 8.7%), before a sprint stage the next day on stage 13 to Reggio Emilia.

The hardest day of the race so far comes on stage 14, with almost 5,000m of elevation which concludes on the Piani di Bobbio (10km at 9%). The GC riders are allowed no rest, with a long 37.3km individual time trial on stage 15 surely meaning big time gaps. This is a flat one.

Week three

It's more climbing as soon as the final week begins, with the Queen Stage coming on day 16. It's 192km with 5,700m of elevation gain, with the Passo del Mortirolo twice around an ascent of the Passo Gavia. The Mortirolo is 12.8km at 10.1%, before the Gavia is 16.5km at 8%. Nothing is easy about this day.

Stage 17 could be a sprint stage, but there are two climbs in the final 25km which might throw a spanner in the works, before the mountains return the next day Stage 18 has five categorised climbs, including a final ascent to Madonna di Campiglio. It might not be as hard as other days, but it's still 4,450m of elevation.

The antepenultimate day, stage 19, will be one for any teams who haven't won yet, whether that's in a sprint or in a breakaway. It is stage 20 which could be decisive, though, with the ascent of the Mont Zoncolan surely pointing the final direction of the pink jersey, with its 10.1km at 11.9%. Then, it's a quick hop to Rome for the final sprint stage.

Giro d'Italia 2027 stage table