Giro d'Italia 2022 Route

This year marks the 105th edition of the Giro d’Italia 2022. The race lasts 23 days, starts on 6 May in Budapest, and finishes on 29 May in Verona. The Giro d’Italia is considered one of the toughest stage races in the world. With seven sprint stages, six hilly stages, six mountain stages, and two exciting time trials, it offers a varied route.

History of the Giro d’Italia

The Giro d’Italia has been held every year since 1909. The race was created by the popular sports newspaper Gazette dello Sport as Italy’s answer to the Tour de France. The newspaper has always been printed on its distinctive pink paper. That’s why the leader of the general classification wears a pink jersey. In keeping with national pride, the Giro was always won by an Italian until 1950. Even today, Italian riders continue to play a major role in the race. Since the 1930s, the Giro d’Italia has become much tougher. From that point on, mountain stages featuring the Alps and the Dolomites were added to the route. In 1933, the mountains classification was introduced, and since 1966 there has also been a points classification.

Classifications and jerseys

The Tour of Italy features four classifications, each with its own jersey. The pink jersey is considered the most important.

• Maglia Rosa: the pink jersey for the leader of the general classification.
• Maglia Ciclamino: the purple jersey for the leader of the points classification.
• Maglia Azzurra: the blue jersey for the best climber.
• Maglia Bianca: for the best young rider under 25.

Giro d’Italia 2022 route

The Giro d’Italia 2022 starts on Friday 6 May and finishes on Sunday 29 May. Thanks to a mix of long stages, flat sections, time trials, and climbs, the route offers plenty of variety. The first three stages take place in Hungary. After that, the pink caravan heads to Italian soil for the final three weeks. The Giro d’Italia consists of 21 stages spread over 23 days. Below is an overview of the stages per week. Read an in-depth overview of all stages of the Giro d’Italia 2022.

Week 1

The opening stage runs from Budapest to a punchy finish in Visegrád, before the time trial specialists take over the streets of Budapest in stage two. The finish is at Szentháromság tér, or Holy Trinity Square, after a short and steep climb. Stage three is raced across the flat roads from Kaposvár to Balatonfüred, a coastal town on Lake Balaton. Then comes a rest day to move the entire circus to southern Italy. In Sicily, the Giro continues with stage 4, where Mount Etna is climbed straight away. Stage 5 finishes in Messina before the pink caravan reaches the mainland in stage 6 with a finish in Scalea. The race continues north in stage 7, which becomes a demanding race through the mid-mountains with a total elevation gain of 4,500 metres. Stage 8 is a rolling route in and around Naples. The climbing ramps up in stage 9 with a double serving and a summit finish on Blockhaus, where Nairo Quintana rode solo to victory in 2017, 24 seconds ahead of Thibaut Pinot and Tom Dumoulin.

Week 2

Stage 10 is flat in the first half and hilly in the second, before stage 11 will likely see a bunch sprint in Reggio Emilia. Stage 12 is another tough test with a downhill finish in Genoa, while stage 13 goes from San Remo to a likely bunch sprint in Cuneo. Stage 14 is a tricky stage in the hills east of Turin with a downhill finish. Sunday’s stage 15 is a mountainous stage with an uphill finish in Cogne in the Aosta Valley.

Week 3

The final week is also the toughest. The first stage of this week, stage 16, takes on the Mortirolo and Passo di Santa Christina before a downhill finish in Aprica. Stage 17 finishes in Lavarone, shortly after the climb of Monte Rovere, a 7.9-kilometre ascent with an average gradient of no less than 9.9 percent. Stage 18 runs over mostly flat terrain from Borgo Valsigana to Treviso before stage 19 features 3,230 metres of elevation gain and an uphill finish to Santuario di Castelmonte. Stage 20 includes two climbs that were left out of the 2020 stage to Cortina d'Ampezzo due to bad weather: Passo Pordoi and Passo Fedaia. The 14-kilometre final climb at 7.6% delivers a brutal second half with gradients in double digits throughout. On 29 May, it all concludes with a time trial in Verona. It will cover 17.1 kilometres. Excitement guaranteed!

Read more about the Giro d’Italia?

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