The 1st stage is a team time trial of 16.8 kilometres on a flat and fast course before stage 2 serves a version of the Strade Bianche. It’s a demanding race with gravel roads and plenty of uphill sectors.
Stage 3 is tailor-made for punchers with a steep finish climb into Assisi, while the 4th stage also finishes uphill. The finale is different though, as an uphill false leads onto the last 2 kilometres at 4%.
Sprinters could mark the out-and-back race in Terracina, as the 5th stage includes two modest ascents before a flat finale. A similar scenario unfolds in stage 6, although the route is slightly harder.
The Giro Rosa serves a finale on a 16.8 kilometres circuit in stage 7. The riders tackle the lap twice, on both occasions ascending the 4.2 kilometres climb to the Sanctuary of San Michele Arcangelo before an 8 kilometres downhill leads onto the uphill home straight.
It’s back to the puncheurs again on the penultimate day of action. Stage 8 features a lot of climbing at moderate gradients, but the finale is something else entirely. A 3.5 kilometres climb at 9.2% into San Marco La Catola is followed by 2.5 kilometres of false flat on narrow and twisting roads.
The final stage of the Giro Rosa is fairly straightforward. The riders race a 27.5 kilometres circuit four times. An 11.6 kilometres ascent at almost 4% is the centerpiece of each round. Uphill finish!
Annemiek van Vleuten is the title defender in the Giro Rosa. Last year, she won the race almost 4 minutes ahead of Anna van der Breggen with Amanda Spratt 3 more minutes in arrears.
Giro Rosa 2020: profiles
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