Last minute Christmas gift idea for your favorite Giro fan

December 16 update: As mentioned here several times, the next Giro will pay homage to Fausto Coppi's epic 1949 stage win from Cuneo to Pinerolo by using the same course for stage 10 next May. Coppi finished 11 minutes ahead of second place Gino Bartali on the 250k stage, 60 years ago, after a 192k solo break. It wasn't just one stage that was memorable that year, in fact, the battle between Coppi and Bartali extended for the entire three weeks producing one of the greatest Giros ever. VeloPress translated old newspaper dispatches and weaved them into a book published in 1998 (see above); however, it's now, inexplicably, out-of-print at this important time. (Seems like VeloPress missed an opportunity for a new edition given the early route rumors (from two months ago) and the hype surrounding the upcoming centennial Giro). What a cool, timely gift for any Giro fanatic you know... if you can find a copy. — Steve
December 19 update: Since this post, the price of the book through Amazon third party resellers has gone from $30 to over $70. I certainly do not endorse the purchase of a $70 paperback. — Steve

Official Giro 2009 route coming today...

December 13 update: Today is Christmas day for the many zealous Giro fans out there among the normal population. Last week, I posted useful information about today's upcoming presentation. If I find or here about a live link then I'll post it too. With the help of many of you, we already know the host towns and some of the stage maps, profiles and distances. Today though, it becomes official with a certified route map (corsa rosa), distances and the mountain profiles. Italian stars like Basso, Di Luca, Cunego, Ballan, Bennati, Petacchi, Rebellin, Simoni , Pelizzotti, and ... Simeoni will be there. Check back after 18:00 CET for these new details along with photos from the presentation. Speaking of photos, later this month I'll be posting thousands of high quality photos from the 2008 European races (including all Classics and the three Grand Tours) as part of our 2008 recap and 2009 preview. Stay tuned... — Steve
December 13 1:15 AM PST update: I've received an email from John Calliott, who points out gazzetta.it will, apparently, be webcasting the presentation. I don't know the precise link, but here's a good place to camp out until I or someone else finds a better link. (update: live presentation). The presentation is scheduled for 16:45 to 18:00 CET (local time) or 10:45 to 12:00 ET. — Steve
Live webcast route presentation () from Venice, Italy
(direct windows media player link)

Unofficial Giro 2009 Route Map

December 11 update: Thanks to the viewer "anghinelli" in Italy for sending in this updated 2009 map and says the rumours relayed here were "99% correct." (The Milano stage is a circuit race and Torino starts stage 11 instead of finishing stage 9 are the only updates from yesterday's changes.) It's all but official folks. Start booking those hotels if you haven't already done so. — Steve

Il Giro del centenario è servito: guarda la cartina — tuttosport

... I just plotted out the map and profile for the mountainous stage 12 ITT (scroll down) — Steve

More confirmation of the Sestri Levante-Riomaggiore 61k ITT

December 9 update: There will be a long (61k) individual time trial with two good hills (medium mountains) on Stage 12. After plotting the map and profile (see below), I'd say that this is going to be one wild ride requiring the full skill set and there is likely no need for a TT bike. — Steve
61,5 km tutti per Lance — cittadellaspezia
Here are some other rumour updates: Bressanone (stage 6 start), Torino (stage 9 finish instead of stage 11 start as rumoured earlier), Pinerolo (double-duty as the stage 11 start), Camaiore (stage 13 start) and finally stage 14 should start in Campi Bisenzio and end with the 2 km, 10.8% hillclimb finish at Santuario San Luca (photo right) (Bologna) with a maximum grade of 18%. Thanks for the input. Send me a quick email if you disagree. — Steve

December 11 update: Here's the likely map and profile of the long, mountainous stage 12 individual time-trial:
Interactive Stage 12 Map

Cadel Evan's name is added to the quality start list for Giro 2009

December 9 update: Just like last year, it looks like the Giro will rival or surpass the Tour de France for marquee names:
Cadel Evans To Ride 2009 Giro d'Italia — cyclingweekly.co.uk
Despite Contador's pass, Giro 2009 will have many big names — steephill
December 12 update: There seems to be some confusion:
Cadel Evans won't race the 2009 Giro d'Italia — bikeradar
He Said, He Said: Cadel Evans and the Giro — podiumcafe

The official route announcement will be televised next weekend

December 5 update: Those playing along at home already know this, but here's a reminder that the official route announcement is next Saturday December 13th from Teatro La Fenice in Venice. Italy's RAI Tre will be broadcasting the presentation live from 16:45 to 18:00 CET (local time). The presentation will also mark the start of my 2009 partnership with a European cycling photographer, who will be there shooting the pics we need. — Steve

Another update on Stage 15 (May 24th)

December 4 update: Here's an update on yesterday's refinement of Stage 15. Yes, Forlì seems to be back again for 2009. It will apparently be hosting another start (as it did last May) with the finish this time taking place in Faenza (left) just 16k of flat cycling to the north. Expect riders to take the scenic route through the hilly countryside to the west before returning to the flats and the finish in Faenza, which hasn't hosted a Giro stage since Kurt Asle-Arvesen won there in 2003. — Steve
Il Giro d'Italia tornerà a Faenza — romagnaoggi.it

No stage finish for cash-strapped Rimini; Forlì now on board

December 3 update: Originally slated for the stage 15 finish, it appears cash strapped Rimini may be off the board due to the growing costs (200,000+ euros) of hosting the pink caravan. It seems Forlì, the start host for last year's stage 12, will host the stage 15 finish this year. — Steve
"Mancano i soldi, stiamo fermi un Giro" — ilrestodelcarlino.ilsole24ore
Niente tappa a Rimini: addio Giro d'Italia — romagnaoggi.it

Sella gets a one-year ban for duping us of three Giro stage wins

December 2 update: Last May's Giro mountain man, Emanuele Sella, gets a reduced doping sentence (one-year instead of two) after confessing and cooperating with Italian doping authorities. As a result of Sella naming names, CONI (Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano) is launching a new major, doping investigation in Northern Italy. — Steve
Sella Gets One-Year Ban For CERA Positive — cyclingweekly.co.uk

Cuneo-Pinerolo stage reaffirmed in l'eco del chisone

December 1 update: Kent Benson, of the The Belvedere Bed & Breakfast, points out another update in his local newspaper l'eco del chisone that reaffirms a mountain stage in 2009 honouring Fausto Coppi's 192k solo escape during the 250k stage from Cuneo to Pinerolo 60 years ago (1949). This was first reported on October 14th. Ties Lange has sent in the profile and notes the same stage was last used in 1982. Earlier rumours speculated a finish at the top of Sestriere before the 50k descent into Pinerolo. — Steve

Recon mission and meeting implies Sulmona-Benevento is on-board for stage 18

November 26 update: RCS and their broadcasting partner, RAI, will be in Benevento on November 27th to meet with town officials and to scope out camera angles for the downtown circuit finish among the old Roman theatres, arches, cathedrals and other monuments. — Steve
Tappa Giro d'Italia in città, giovedì il sopralluogo — casertanews.it
December 5 update: Giro a Benevento, conclusione in circuito — ilsannioquotidiano.it

Pergola-Monte Petrano mountain stage now confirmed

November 17 update: Longer (229 km) and harder (4700m of climbing) than originally speculated, Pergola-Monte Petrano is now confirmed for May 25th. — Steve
Giro d'Italia: la Pergola-Monte Petrano Un 'tappone' di montagna per veri duri — ilrestodelcarlino.ilsole24ore

Veneto region Giro stages confirmed

November 12 update: April Pedersen Santinon has emailed information on more confirmed stages: Officials in the town of Valdobbiadene, Italy (Treviso province, Veneto region) confirmed today that they've received official word from Giro d'Italia director Angelo Zomegnan that stage three of the 2009 centennial edition will finish in their town on May 11. The 180 km stage will start in Grado, which is on the Adriatic Sea between Venice and Trieste, in the neighboring Friuli-Venezia Giulia region.

Valdobbiadene, at the foot of Monte Cesen and surrounded by vineyard-covered hills, is one of the capitals of Prosecco wine.

The following day, May 12, the race will depart from Padova (Padua), also in the Veneto region, and finish in the Dolomite mountain town of San Martino di Castrozza, in the Trentino region.

April is from Valdobbiadene and tells me her "very beautiful" town is pronounced: Vahl-dohb-BYAH-deh-nay. So now the first four stages are confirmed. Thanks for chipping in April. — Steve

link to the article in Il Gazzettino

More details about the Venice start

Oct 31 update: There was a press conference/disco today where the mayor of Venice officially announced and fielded questions about the start on neighbouring Lido Island. Both Alessandro Ballan and Ivan Basso attended the event. — Steve

The opening stage will be a 21 km team time trial up and down the Venice Lido, the strip of land that protects Venice from the currents of the Adriatic sea. The same roads hosted the start of the 1997 Giro when Mario Cipollini beat Nicola Minali in a sprint finish. The 21 km team time trial course is flat and fast, with just five corners in the whole route. It looks perfect for Jonathan Vaughter's Garmin. Read more...
2009 Giro d'Italia To Start In Venice — cyclingweekly.co.uk
Giro del Centenario Battesimo alla Fenice — gazzetta.it

The mayor of Venice has confirmed the 2009 Giro will start on Lido Island/Venice (photo courtesy of jstevesw)
photo courtesy of dhammza

The mayor of Venice confirms the Giro will start in his town

Oct 30 update:
Giro 09 starts in Venice — eurosport
Venezia, scenario magico per il via del Giro 2009 — gazzetta.it (English Translation)

Despite Contador's pass, Giro 2009 will have many big names

Oct 28 update: The 2009 Giro d'Italia looks to be shaping up into a battle of cycling's titans, as still more big names have announced plans to race in Italy in May . With Lance Armstrong, Damiano Cunego and Ivan Basso already confirmed, 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre and longtime Armstrong sidekick Jose Luis Rubiera are both expected to start the centennial edition of the corsa rosa.
Read more,
Sastre eyes Giro ride — velonews
Contador to pass on Giro defense — velonews
Menchov announces plans to race Giro — velonews

Of course, big names don't necessarily mean big efforts. With the exception of the Italians, plenty of top names make a show of coming to Italy only to treat the race as conditioning. Sastre is a top candidate to "just get in some race miles," for example. But there are two factors which could upend the conventional wisdom. First, it's the centenary Giro, a special event, which as we saw in the 2003 Tour tends to give the riders a little extra motivation. Secondly, Contador's return to the Tour (and possible Vuelta defense) may make the Giro the only place where a top-flight grand tour contender will have an actual shot at winning.
Read More,
Giro Intrigue Builds — podiumcafe
Sastre photo courtesy of Colin Flockton


The rumoured stage 16 finish at the ski resort "Block Haus" has lots of 9%. Enlarge profile

The rumoured route

Oct 26 update: The long running thread by members of the Italian site cicloweb.it regarding the possible 2009 Giro route continues. They generally agree with the corsa rosa published by La Stampa (see below); however, they have some differences which I've included in the first version of the stage details table (see right). They point out that the stage 12 time trial starting from Sestri Levante would be 62k if it finished in Lerci which seems too long and are suggesting Riomaggiore is more appropriate... I've marked five stages with the mountain symbol identifying the likely mountain stages; however, the Giro organizers are notoriously stingy with the symbol. The route will waste no time getting down to business with a likely stage 3 mountaintop finish in the Dolomites at the ski resort, San Martino di Castrozza. Even though stage 18 will finish on the slopes of Monte Vesuvio (Mount Vesuvius), it's quite possible that the hilly run will not be difficult enough to call it a mountain stage... The 6th Giro stage is expected to finish in Austria and start the next morning from Innsbruck... For the third year in a row, a cronosquadre (team time trial) will start the event... The transfer distances between finish and start towns will not be nearly as bad as last year. — Steve

La Stampa publishes the first credible (?) 2009 rou(gh/te) map
Oct 24 update: The Giro 2009 thread on the cicloweb.it forum has been diligently having fun assembling (speculating) on the 2009 Giro route, but yesterday Italy's newspaper La Stampa added much creditbility by publishing a route map that's very close to the Oct 21st cicloweb.it iteration with all of the inaugural 1909 Giro host towns included. You may recall, last year La Stampa published their version of the 2008 Giro route a week before the official announcement that proved very accurate. However, we are still 50 days away from the official December 13th announcement this year so La Stampa must have scored some good inside information to publish a complete version of the upcoming corsa rosa. We'll see. — Steve

Oct 17 update: Anyone who is a fan of the Giro d'Italia should also love the Giro di Lombardia which takes place tomorrow (Saturday) around Lake Como. Check out our 2008 Giro di Lombardia Live Dashboard with a course map, profile and video options for the last big classic of the year. — Steve

The 1949 Cuneo to Pinerolo stage to be honoured 60 years later; Venice prologue

Oct 14 update: Another article, this time in L'eco del Chisone, states Fausto Coppi's epic 1949 stage win from Cuneo to Pinerolo will be honoured 60 years later for Giro 2009. Coppi finished 11 minutes ahead of second place Gino Bartali after a 150k solo break back on that day in 1949. Unfortunately, I don't have the stage date for 2009. Anyone know the date or care to speculate? ... Another rumour of a Venice prologue this time by the new World Road Race Champion, Alessandro Ballan, who is expecting to appear in his first Giro ... According to repubblica.it, Trieste will host the first stage finish. — Steve

Armstrong: "Si al Giro 2009"

Oct 13 update: "Everybody says that the Giro will be the kick-off to the Tour while I know I could come to Italy to be a winner and that the Giro will be my true three-week stage race of the year," Lance Armstrong said today.

Armstrong confirms for Giro — velonews
Lance Armstrong To Ride 2009 Giro d'Italia — cyclingweekly.co.uk
Ecco la stella del Centenario Armstrong: "Si al Giro 2009" — gazzetta.it

Inaugural Giro route to be revived?

Oct 12 update: Next year's 2009 edition of the Giro will be its 100th anniversary (and 92nd edition) so it's possible the 1909 route will be the basis for the next Giro. Rome and Naples are already heavily rumoured. The image left gives a rough outline of what to expect. The route is rumoured to pass through Induno Olona, the hometown of the first Giro winner, Luigi Ganna. There were eight massive stages in the first year. — Steve

For those that don't remember, here's the 1909 Giro route that may inspire the Centenary edition:
Stage 1, MILANO - BOLOGNA, 397 km
Stage 2, BOLOGNA - CHIETI, 379 km
Stage 3, CHIETI - NAPLES, 243 km
Stage 4, NAPLES - ROME, 228 km
Stage 5, ROME - FLORENCE, 347 km
Stage 6, FLORENCE - GENOVA, 294 km
Stage 7, GENOVA - TORINO, 355 km
Stage 8, TORINO - MILANO, 206km

Avellino to Mount Vesuvius Stage

Oct 10 update: Italian websites are reporting there will be a stage finish on the most active volcano in Europe. Giro 2009 is expected to explore the Campania and Naples regions culminating with a mountain finish (part way?) up Mount Vesuvius followed by a sprint finish the next day in Naples (Benevento?). Thanks to Mark H. for the heads up. Check back as the Giro rumours heat up and if you see something first then send it in. — Steve
Il Giro sceglie il Vesuvio per festeggiare i cento anni — ilmattino.it
Finish Giro op de Vesuvius! — wielermagazine
Il Mattino. Sara il Vesuvio l'arbitro del Giro d'Italia 2009 — tuttobiciweb.it

Vesuvius stage profile:

Lance Armstrong plans for his first Giro d'Italia

Sep 30 update: Armstrong's comeback tour route becomes clearer — usatoday

Pesaro/Urbino 2009 Giro stage slated for May 20th

Sep 29 update: Mark H. has sent me an article from an Urbino magazine containing detailed information on a possbile May 20th (medium) mountain stage from Pergola to Monte Petrano. The sooner I get enough good leads like this, the sooner we can archive the 2008 stage info and results. — Steve

The Giro d'Italia 2009 dates are now official

Sep 25 update: The Giro dates are now official. As first reported here, the dates for the 92nd Giro d'Italia are Saturday May 9th through Sunday May 31st. (Thanks Olli R. for the nice email and the gazzetta link.) The next important announcement will be the official route, but if you have some good solid rumours on the 2009 route than don't be shy... send them in. The official route will probably be announced on Saturday November 29th. The Planimetria, Altimetria, Cronotabelle (route map, stage profiles and timetables) will be released later this year and early next year. All I know now is the route will finish in Milano so I don't know very much.
Sep 26 update: Turns out the traditional Milano finale may be changed this year to Rome. Kevin Ford of Cousins Tours & Travel sent me an update that appeared on cyclingweekly:

2009 CENTENARY GIRO D'ITALIA TO START IN VENICE
Rumours circulating at the world championships suggest that the 2009 Giro d'Italia, the centenary edition of the race will start in Venice.

The Giro usually finishes in Milan, the home of the Gazzetta dello Sport that organises the race but there are rumours that the 2009 could finish in Rome for only the third time in the long history of the race.

Several historic stages are set to be recreated, including the legendary Cuneo to Pinerolo that Fausto Coppi won in 1949.

By the way, today Lance Armstrong once again tossed up the possibility of competing in next year's Giro. — Steve
Jun 18 update: Although not officially stated and before you send in your emails, I fully expect the 2009 dates to be Saturday May 9th to Sunday May 31st. — Steve

Completed 2008 Giro d'Italia coverage