Giro d'Italia 2022: Key information Dates: Friday 6th May to Sunday 29th May 2022 Start: Budapest, Hungary Finish: Verona, Italy Countries visited: Italy, Slovenia, Hungary UK television coverage: Eurosport, GCN+ 2021 winner: Egan Bernal The 105th Giro d'Italia will start on Friday 6th May in the Hungarian capital of Budapest before concluding three weeks later on Sunday 29th May with individual time trial through the streets of fair Verona. Along the way the peloton will tackle six true mountain stages, six hilly days, five sprinter stages and two individual time trials. Highlights of the race include Stage 20 which navigates three giants of the Giro – the Passo San Pellegrino, Passo Pordoi and Passo Fedaia – on top of which the stage will finish, Stage 9 to Blockhaus and Stage 8, a hilly 149km circuit around Napoli. With the route only having just been announced, no General Classification rider has yet put their hat in the ring for maglia rosa glory. Defending champion Egan Bernal is in recovery mode after a horrific crash during the off-season, which means pink is very much up for grabs come Verona on Stage 21. The lack of individual time trial kilometres would suggest a pure climber could fare well here, the likes of Simon Yates and Richard Carapaz springing to mind, although do not discount a returning Tom Dumoulin, Romain Bardet or Alejandro Valverde to be among the shake-up. Either way, only one rider will be wearing the maglia rosa on Sunday 29th May in Verona while the rest will have experienced nothing more than a Shakespearean tragedy. Jump to: Giro d'Italia 2022 route: stage by stage Giro d'Italia 2022 live TV guide Giro d'Italia 2022 start list Giro d'Italia 2022 route This year's Giro begins in Budapest and spends three days in Hungary before getting stuck into Italy on Stage 4 with Mount Etna. The race heads from the country's most southerly region of Sicily – paying a visit to Vincenzo Nibali's home of Messina – right to the very north with a trip to Napoli along the way before making the most of the mountainous Liguria, Piemonte, Valle D'Aosta, Lombardia and Trentino areas before finishing in Veneto with famous Passos Pordoi and Fedaia in the Dolomites and a final time-trial through Verona. Expect scenic countryside, coastline and mountain passes as well as bags of history, as per. Here's our breakdown of what to expect from each stage: Giro d'Italia 2022 route: stage by stage Stage 1: Friday 6th May, Budapest - Visegrád, 195km Elevation: 900m A year later than planned, Hungary finally gets its Grande Partenza and kicks things off with an opening stage that finishes with a small climb into Visegrad. Too tough for the pure sprinters, too easy for the General Classification lot, we imagine the first pink jersey will fall in the hands of a punchy classics rider, and the start list is packed with puncheurs going for the maglia rosa. Mathieu van der Poel, Magnus Cort, Biniam Girmay, Caleb Ewan, Diego Ulissi and Andrea Bagioli are just some of the names surely looking to taking the first jerseys. Stage 2: Saturday 7th May, Budapest - Budapest, (ITT) Elevation: 150m Day two and a short time trial around the narrow city streets of Budapest. The technical nature of the course coupled with the steep ramp to the line could results in decent time gaps at the finish. This could be an opportunity for specialists, like João Almeida, to bank time on rivals. Stage 3: Sunday 8th May, Kaposvár - Balatonfüred, 201km Elevation: 890m A long, flat stage concludes the Giro's visit to Hungary as the peloton heads to Lake Balaton and the first true sprinters finish of the race. While the final 50km take place alongside coastline, crosswinds are unlikely so expect all to reach the finish together. Stage 4: Tuesday 10th May, Avola - Etna, 166km Elevation: 3,580m First rest day and transfer from Hungary banked, the Giro kicks off Stage 4 on the island of Sicily and the first mountain of this year's race, Mount Etna, the big volcano that has been used on many occasions by the race. This year's ascent will take in parts of the Ragalna climb (used in 2018) and Nicolosi climb (used in 2011). However, big time gaps are not expected. Stage 5: Wednesday 11th May, Catania - Messina, 172km Elevation: 1,200m The final stage before the Giro reaches the Italian mainland, a 172km blast down to the Sicilian port city of Messina, the home town of everyone's favourite cycling shark, Vincenzo Nibali. Again, we expect this day to be taken by a sprinter, however the ascent of Portella Mandrazzi could give breakaway specialists ideas. Stage 6: Thursday 12th May, Palmi - Scalea (Riviera del Cedri), 192km Elevation: 900m Another flat sprinters stage, this time along the Tyrrhenian coast of Calabria, one of the lesser visited regions of the Giro, to the town of Scalea. This will be one for the very quick men to contest, with the rest aiming to reach the finish unscathed. Stage 7: Friday 13th May, Diamante - Potenza, 198km Elevation: 4,490m Oh yes, this is a tasty stage alright. 4,490m of vertical elevation aacross 198km. No mountains, just countless undulating hills that sap the legs of energy with almost zero kilometres of flat road. This is the kind of stage a particuarly in-form favourite could cause carnage on, deciding to attack early to see who can keep up. Definitely a stage to bookmark in the diary. Stage 8: Saturday 14th May, Napoli - Napoli, 149km Elevation: 2,130m Vedi Napoli e poi muori. See Naples and then die, as Johann Wolgang von Goethe once wrote. These words may ring true for one of two lost souls who fail to tame the technical, testing 19km city circuit around Naopli on Stage 8. This is another one for the diary, not least to see a rare Giro visit to one of Italy's greatest cities. Stage 9: Sunday 15th May, Isernia - Blockhaus, 187km Elevation: 4,990m The opening week of the 2022 Giro concludes with a double ascent and summit finish of the legendary Blockhaus climb. First used in 1967, a stage won by an unknown 22-year-old called Eddy Merckx, Blockhaus is a climb steeped in Giro legend and arguably the first stage finish that will provide a clearer picture of the GC situation. Stage 10: Tuesday 17th May, Pescara - Jesi, 194km Elevation: 1,730m This is giving us similar vibes to Stage 10 of the 2020 Giro, won in dramatic fashion by Pete Sagan. A fairly mundane first half of the stage which goes into overdrive for the latter half. This will either fall to a strong breakaway rider or a punchy rider who has bided his time patiently in a reduced peloton. Stage 11: Wednesday 18th May, Santarcangelo di Romagna - Reggio Emilia, 201km Elevation: 480m 480m of vertical elevation in 201km, that makes Cambridgeshire look hilly! Honestly, while the route may be heading through Italy's culinary heartland, this route is anything but tasty. One of those days where you feel sorry for the commentators. What could there possible be to talk about? Stage 12: Thursday 19th May, Parma - Genova, 186km Elevation: 2,840m This as close to a cut-and-dry breakaway stage as you get. A rolling medium-mountain day halfway through the second week with a descent to the finish. I've heard Simon Pellaud has already got himself up the road. Highlight of this day being the race finishes in Genoa, home of Serie A football team Sampdoria, wearers of the best kit in Italian football (which, as it turns out, some enterprising soul has already turned into a cycling jersey). Stage 13: Friday 20th May, Sanremo - Cuneo, 157km Elevation: 1,450m Starting in a town well-known to pro cycling fans, San Remo, the race will head north towards the town of Cuneo, home of a lovely desert called Cuneesi al Rhum, meringue filled with a dark chocolate and rum-based filling. Unfortunately, despite visiting the town of Cuneo, the Giro misses yet another opportunity to climb the nearby Colle Fauniera, one of the great Italian Alps. Stage 14: Saturday 21th May, Santena - Torino, 153km Elevation: 3,470m The day before a trip to the moutains, this punchy 153km stage to Torino – home of the Fiat – could prove a dud if the GC men are worried about what's to come in 24 hours time. If they decide to go for it, there will be fireworks. Interesting fact time: Torino has the most Italian football championship titles of any city in Italy with 43; 36 belonging to Juventus and seven to Torino. Stage 15: Sunday 22nd May, Rivarolo Canavese - Cogne, 177km Elevation: 4,030m Three big mountains in the final 80km the day before the final rest day, what better incentive for GC riders to attack. This should be a day in which stronger climbers take the initiative and go off in pursuit of glory, hopefully making moves before the final climb to Cogne. Stage 16: Tuesday 24th May, Salo - Aprica, 200km Elevation: 5,440m This year's Giro 'wine stage' by virtue of its visit to the Sforzato region which runs along the Valtellina valley, this mountain stage visits the mythical Mortirolo pass some 70km from the finish. Fingers crossed for long range missiles everyone. Stage 17: Wednesday 25th May, Ponte di Legno - Lavarone, 165km Elevation: 3,740m Like a naughty sucker punch, Stage 17 comes hot of the heels of Stage 16 and takes the race back into the mountains, this time to Lavarone in Italy's Trento region. That first 8km uphill straight from the start should provide a good springboard for breakaway artists but we expect the stage to be contested by the big GC men. Stage 18: Thursday 26th May, Borgo Valsugana - Treviso, 146km Elevation: 570m Finally a rest from the high mountains with a fast sprinters' stage that is basically downhill all day. We expect this to be a rapid one. The winner will be whoever has managed their body best in the high mountains which means a surprise sprinter could take the spoils. Stage 19: Friday 27th May, Marano Lagunare - Santuario Di Castelmonte, 178km Elevation: 3,230m The penultimate 'bumpy' day, Stage 19 takes the peloton for a brief visit to Slovenia although do not expect this to tempt Tadej Pogačar or Primož Roglič into racing, they have bigger, yellower fish to fry in July. With the giant day that lies in wait the day after, we expect the GC men to leave this to breakaway artists and those whose ambitions of pink are already over. So Mikel Landa, then. Stage 20: Saturday 28th May, Belluno - Marmolada, 167km Elevation: 4,490m And for our last song, one of the classics. A monumental mountain stage through Italy's imposing Dolomites, Stage 20 takes on the Passo di San Pellegrino, Passo Pordoi, this year's Cima Coppi, and the Passo Fedaia, the stage's summit finish venue. The last roll of the dice for any GC rider hoping to improve their position, we'll be watching this day from start to finish. Stage 21: Sunday 29th May, Verona - Verona, (ITT) In fair Verona, where we lay our final scene. From ancient grudge break to new mutiny. Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. The final day of the 2022 Giro will be a individual time trial through the Shakesperean city of Verona where one man will be crowned champion. Who will it be? Giro d'Italia 2022 live TV guide Live TV coverage of the 2022 Giro d'Italia will be on Eurosport and GCN+. Giro d'Italia 2022 start lists: WorldTour teams AG2R Citroën (FRA) Lilian Calmejane Mikaël Cherel Felix Gall Jaakko Hänninen Lawrence Naesen Nans Peters Nicolas Prodhomme Andrea Vendrame Astana Qazaqstan (KAZ) Valerio Conti David De La Cruz Joe Dombrowski Fabio Fellini Miguel Àngel López Vincenzo Nibali Vadim Pronskiy Harold Tejada Bahrain Victorious (BHR) Phil Bauhaus Pello Bilbao Santiago Buitrago Mikel Landa Domen Novak Wout Poels Jasha Sütterlin Jan Tratnik Bora-Hansgrohe (GER) Giovanni Aleotti Cesare Benedetti Emanuel Buchman Patrick Gamper Jai Hindley Lennard Kämna Wilco Kelderman Ben Zwiehoff Cofidis (FRA) Davide Cimolai Simone Consonni Wesley Kreder Guillaume Martin Anthony Perez Pierre-Luc Périchon Rémy Rochas Davide Villella EF Education-EasyPost (US) Jonathan Caicedo Diego Camargo Simon Carr Hugh Carthy Magnus Cort Owain Doull Merhawi Kudus Julius van den Berg Groupama-FDJ (FRA) Clément Davy Arnaud Démare Jacopo Guarnieri Ignatas Konovalovas Tobias Lugvigsson Roman Sinkeldam Miles Scotson Attila Valter Ineos Grenadiers (GBR) Richard Carapaz Jonathan Castroviejo Jhonatan Narváez Richie Porte Salvatore Puccio Pavel Sivakov Ben Swift Ben Tulett Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux (BEL) Aimé De Gendt Biniam Girmay Jan Hirt Barnabás Peák Domenico Pozzovivo Lorenzo Rota Rein Taaramäe Loic Vliegen Israel-Premier Tech (ISL) Matthias Brändle Jennthe Biermans Alexander Cataford Alessandro De Marchi Alex Dowsett Reto Hollenstein Giacomo Nizzolo Rick Zabel Jumbo-Visma (NED) Edoardo Affini Koen Bouwman Pascal Eenkhoorn Tom Dumoulin Tobias Foss Gijs Leemreize Sam Oomen Jos van Emden Lotto-Soudal (BEL) Thomas De Gendt Caleb Ewan Matthew Holmes Roger Kluge Sylvain Moniquet Michael Schwarzmann Rüdiger Selig Harm Vanhoucke Movistar (ESP) Jorge Arcas Will Barta Oier Lazkano Antonio Pedrero José Joaquín Rojas Sergio Samitier Iván Sosa Alejandro Valverde QuickStep Alpha Vinyl (BEL) Davide Ballerini Mark Cavendish James Knox Michael Mørkøv Pieter Serry Mauro Schmid Bert Van Lerberghe Mauri Vansevenant Team BikeExchange-Jayco (AUS) Lawson Craddock Lucas Hamilton Michael Hepburn Damienn Howson Chris Juul-Jensen Callum Scotson Matteo Sobrero Simon Yates Team DSM (GER) Thymen Arensmman Romain Bardet Cees Bol Romain Combaud Alberto Dainese Nico Denz Chris Hamilton Martijn Tusveld Trek-Segafredo (USA) Dario Cataldo Giulio Ciccone Juan Pedro López Bauke Mollema Jacopo Mosca Mattias Skjelmose Edward Theuns Otto Vergaerde UAE Team Emirates (UAE) João Almeida Rui Costa Alessandro Covi Davide Formolo Fernando Gaviria Rui Oliveira Maximiliano Richeze Diego Ulissi ProTeams Alpecin-Fenix (BEL) Tobias Bayer Dries De Bondt Alexander Krieger Senne Leysen Jakub Mareczko Stefano Oldani Oscar Riesebeek Mathieu van der Poel Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè (ITA) Luca Covili Davide Gabburo Filippo Fiorelli Sacha Modolo Luca Rastelli Alessandro Tonelli Filippo Zana Samuele Zoccarato Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli (ITA) Mattia Bais Jefferson Cepeda Andrii Ponomar Simone Ravanelli Eduardo Sepùlveda Filippo Tagliani Natnael Tesfatsion Edoardo Zardini EOLO-Kometa (ITA) Vincenzo Albanese Davide Bais Erik Fetter Lorenzo Fortunato Francesco Gavazzi Mirco Maestri Samuele Rivi Diego Rosa

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