Giro 2027 Route stage 20: Pordenone - Monte Zoncolan

Saturday 29 May 2027 – The Giro’s final mountain stage heads to the summit of Monte Zoncolan. The brutally steep finale is a 10.1-kilometre slog at 11.9%, which is all the more daunting as the riders tackle the Passo Duron and Sella Valcalda in the run-up.

Published on 4 November 2027

It will be the seventh time the Giro includes Monte Zoncolan. The mountain featured on the route in 2003, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2018. On every occasion bar the first, the riders tackled the mountain from Ovaro – the tougher side – and 2027 will be no different.

For the first few hours, there is little to suggest that a tough finale lies ahead. It is only after around 110 kilometres that the road begins to rise, initially almost imperceptibly, but things change when the riders reach the Passo Duron with 43 kilometres remaining.

The Passo Duron is a brutal change of pace after the seemingly endless false flat that precedes it. It also serves as a good test for the final climb, as the climb may be considerably shorter, at 4.4 kilometres, but the average gradient of 9.6% serves up the first real challenge of the day.

Around 20 kilometres further on, the riders crest the Sella Valcalda after a 7.6-kilometre climb averaging 5.6%. Back in the vally, the they turn left and follow the Torrente Degano. After tracking the stream for a while, another lefthander in Ovaro marks the start of the haul up Monte Zoncolan.

The opening section is relatively straightforward, but just 1 kilometre into the climb, the Zoncolan bares its teeth. The road ramps up for 4 kilometres at an average gradient of 15.4%, before holding at 13.9% for another 2 kilometres. With that, the worst is over, but that’s a relative term, as the gradient kicks back into double figures several times in the final 2 kilometres.

Monte Zoncolan is a monster of a climb, with its 10.1 kilometres averaging a staggering 11.9%.

Whoever gets their front wheel across the line first will follow in the footsteps of Gilberto Simoni (2003 and 2007), Ivan Basso (2010), Igor Antón (2011), Michael Rogers (2014) and Chris Froome (2018). The latter victory proved to be the start of a remarkable resurgence. Froome had been a shadow of his former self throughout that edition of the Giro, until he rode solo to victory in the final 4 kilometres of the Zoncolan. It proved to be a taste of what was to come a week later, when he produced a stunning performance on the stage over the Colle delle Finestre.

The 2014 ascent of Zoncolan was also memorable, although Francesco Manuel Bongiorno will probably look back on that day with mixed feelings. He and Rogers were the only survivors from the breakaway when a spectator tried to lend a helping hand with a push on the final climb. The Italian lost his balance, had to unclip from the pedal and came to a complete standstill. He was then unable to close the gap. Ouch!

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