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Giro d’Italia 2020: The toughest stages of Italy’s legendary cycling race

Organizers on Thursday unveiled the route of the next Giro d'Italia. From volcanos to gruelling mountain ascents, here are the stages to watch out for.

Published: 25 October 2019 09:54 CEST
Updated: 25 October 2019 11:54 CEST
Giro d'Italia 2020: The toughest stages of Italy's legendary cycling race
Riders approach Piancavallo in the Dolomites, which will also feature in the 2020 Giro d'Italia. Photo: Luk Benies/AFP

With seven uphill finishes and three individual time-trials, the 2020 Giro d'Italia will get underway in Budapest on May 9th with the riders finishing in front of Milan's iconic Duomo on May 31st.

READ ALSO: Ten awe-inspiring routes for cycling through Italy

After three stages in Hungary, the 3,579km race heads for Sicily, before crossing to the mainland and moving across the foot of Italy, up along the Adriatic coast, before hitting the Dolomites and the Alps in the gruelling final week.

Here's a look at five key stages out of 21 that could decide the pink jersey winner of the 103rd edition of the three-week race.

Stage 5: Enna – Mount Etna
Date: May 13th
Distance: 150 km
Difficulty: ****


Riding towards Etna in 2011. Photo: Luk Benies/AFP

The final day of three in Sicily sees the riders head from inland Enna east to the foot of the Mount Etna volcano, with a first-ever climb from Linguaglossa to Piano Provenzana over 18 km with average gradients of 7 percent, peaking at 10 percent in the finale.

Stage 15: Rivolto Air Base – Piancavallo
Date: May 24th
Distance: 183 km
Difficulty: ****

This mountain stage in the north-east gets underway in an Italian military Air Base near Udine, home to the Frecce Tricolori aerobatic team. It starts gently with 40 km of flat before a succession of climbs and descents to the foot of the final climb of Piancavallo in the Dolomites, with peaks of 14 percent.


Approaching Piancavallo in 2017. Photo: Luk Benies/AFP

Stage 17: Bassano Del Grappa – Madonna Di Campiglio
Date: May 27th
Distance:  202 km
Difficulty: *****

The pink jersey contenders will start to flex their muscles with three summit finishes in the final five days. This unrelenting mountain stage has a succession of four climbs, including Forcella Valbona and Monte Bondone with gradients over 10 percent in the second part of the ascent. After clearing the Passo Durone, the peloton will eventually tackle the closing climb to the Alpine resort of Madonna di Campiglio.

Stage 18: Pinzolo – Laghi Di Cancano
Date: May 28th
Distance: 209 km
Difficulty: *****


Climbing the Stelvio in 2017. Photo: Luk Benies/AFP

A colossal Alpine stage with 5,400 m vertical altitude in total over four climbs. The route starts uphill on Passo Campo Carlo Magno. The highest point of this year's Giro is reached on the Stelvio in the Alps with riders facing a gruelling 2,758m climb.

Stage 20: Alba – Sestriere
Date: May 30th
Distance: 200 km
Difficulty: *****

The last chance for the title contenders comes on the penultimate day in an Alpine stage crossing over to France. Riders will pass Colle dell'Agnello, Col d'Izoard and Monginevro, before the final climb up to Sestriere.


The complete route for the 2020 Giro d'Italia. Image: Giro d'Italia/Twitter

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CRIME

Spain women’s World Cup players demand more heads roll as Rubiales in court

The crisis within Spanish football deepened Friday as the women's World Cup winners demanded more heads roll at its scandal-hit RFEF federation whose disgraced ex-boss appeared in court on sexual assault charges.

Published: 16 September 2023 07:56 CEST
Spain women's World Cup players demand more heads roll as Rubiales in court

Just hours after Luis Rubiales was quizzed by a judge for kissing midfielder Jenni Hermoso, all but two of Spain’s 23 World Cup players said they would not don the national shirt without deeper changes within the RFEF, demanding its current interim head also resign.

The statement came as the squad’s new coach Montse Tome was to announce the lineup for two upcoming UEFA Women’s Nations League matches against Sweden and Switzerland, which was promptly postponed, federation sources said.

“The changes put in place are not enough,” said a statement signed by 39 players, among them 21 of the 23 World Cup winners.

Demanding “fundamental changes to the RFEF’s leadership”, they called for the “resignation of the RFEF president” Pedro Rocha, who took over as interim leader when FIFA suspended Rubiales on August 26.

But the federation insisted Rocha would “lead the transition process within the RFEF until the next election”, insisting any changes would be made “gradually”.

A federation source said a leadership election could take place early next year.

“This institution is more important than individuals and it’s crucial it remains strong. We’ll work tirelessly to create stability first in order to progress later,” Rocha said in the statement.

Despite a string of recent changes, the federation remains in the hands of officials appointed by Rubiales, and the players are demanding structural changes “within the office of the president and the secretary general”.

Brought to court by a kiss

The bombshell came after days of optimism within the RFEF that the players would come round after it sacked controversial coach Jorge Vilda, appointed Tome in his stead and pledged further changes, not to mention Rubiales’ long-awaited resignation on Sunday.

On August 25, 81 Spain players, including the 23 world champions, had started a mass strike saying they would not play for the national team without significant changes at the head of the federation.

Earlier on Friday, Rubiales appeared in court where he was quizzed by Judge Francisco de Jorge who is heading up the investigation into the kiss, which sparked international outrage and saw him brought up on sexual assault charges.

At the end of the closed-door hearing, in which Rubiales repeated his claim that the kiss was consensual, the judge ordered him not to come within 200 metres of Hermoso and barred him from any contact with the player.

At the weekend, the 46-year-old had described the kiss as “a spontaneous act, a mutual act, an act that both consented to, which was… 100 percent non-sexual” in an interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan.

Hermoso, 33, has insisted it was not, describing it as “an impulsive, macho act, out of place and with no type of consent on my part”.

Speaking to reporters outside court, Hermoso’s lawyer Carla Vall said they were “very satisfied” with the hearing.

“Thanks to this video, everyone can see there was no consent whatsoever and that is what we will demonstrate in court.”

Allegations of coercion

Hermoso herself will also testify before the judge at some stage, who will then have to decide whether or not to push ahead with the prosecution. No date has been given for her testimony.

The complaint against Rubiales, which was filed by the public prosecutors’ office, cites alleged offences of sexual assault and coercion.

Under a recent reform of the Spanish penal code, a non-consensual kiss can be considered sexual assault, a category which groups all types of sexual violence.

If found guilty, Rubiales could face anything from a fine to four years in prison, sources at the public prosecutors’ office have said.

In their complaint, prosecutors explained the offence of coercion related to Hermoso’s statement saying she “and those close to her had suffered constant ongoing pressure by Luis Rubiales and his professional entourage to justify and condone” his actions.

At the hearing, Rubiales also denied coercion.

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