The Giro Rosa, traditionally the marquee stage race of the season, will take the riders on a nine-day journey through the regions of Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio, Campania and Puglia in central and southern Italy. The race will include a total of four summit finishes: Stage 3 in Assisi, Stage 4 in Tivoli, Stage 8 at San Marco La Catola and the final Stage 9 at Motta Montecorvino. There will also be a 170.3km long stage from Assisi to Tivoli, which is 10km longer than the maximum distance that is usually allowed for Women’s WorldTour stages.
The race will commence with a flat 16km long team time trial in Grosseto. Stage two features a 124.8km long course from Paganico to Arcidosso. The route is challenging, including short and steep ramps in addition to two gravel sections.
The third stage, which starts in Santa Fiora, offers a 142.2km long rolling parcours, including a climb over a category 1 ascent before the peloton arrives in Assisi. At 170.3km, the next stage will be the longest during this year’s Giro Rosa. After 70 kilometres of racing, a category 3 ascent awaits the field before they head onto a gradual uphill section and the final steep climb to Tivoli.
Stage five then takes the riders from the coastal town of Terracina over a flat 110km course, back to the start town. A hilly course from Torre del Grecco to Nola awaits the following day, with only a category three climb on the menu of this 97.5km long stage. On day seven from Nola to Maddaloni, the peloton will take on 112.5km with a third category climb to the Sanctuary of San Arcengelo, which comes after 82 km of racing. The latter is a steep 6km long ascent, which the riders will have to tackle twice on a final circuit, before descending into Maddaloni. The Penultimate stage will be the shortest stage, at 91.4km in length, but will guarantee fireworks, with the riders having to contest two punishing climbs, the first at Volturino and then another up to the finish line at San Marco La Catola. The final 109.8 km long stage features a circuit race of four laps of 27.5km each, which include the Volturno ascent, before the Giro Rosa comes to a conclusion with an uphill finish in Motta Montecorvino.
The riders representing Équipe Paule Ka at the Giro Rosa will be:
- Lizzy Banks
- Elise Chabbey
- Niamh Fisher-Black
- Mikayla Harvey
- Emma Norsgaard Jorgensen
- Marlen Reusser
Source