Stage 19: Marano Lagunare – Santuario di Castelmonte
- When: Friday 27 May, starts at 12.10 pm
- Distance: 178 kilometers, arrival around 5.15 pm
- Type: transition stage
- Difficulty: ****
A challenging stage with a crossing to Slovenia and finally with an uphill finish, but officially no mountain stage. Friday afternoon it is again hard climbing for the nineteenth stage in the Giro. Halfway through the race, the riders cross the border into Slovenia to conquer the imposing Kolovrat. Back in Italy, the final climb to the pilgrimage town of Castelmonte awaits. Will an adventurer choose the right flight or will it be a joust between the classification men?
With Saturday’s tough and perhaps decisive mountain stage in mind, it seems unlikely that the classification men will give everything on Friday. Although you never know, especially if a Mikel Landa feels the legs itch.
Still, the nineteenth stage seems like an excellent last chance for the adventurers with climber legs. Although they should not be too high in the ranking of the pink jersey. Mountain king Koen Bouwman, Gijs Leemreize, Bauke Mollema, Thymen Arensman and maybe even Mathieu van der Poel will try to get into the right flight. Bouwman can even secure his mountain jersey. Lennard Kämna is also always good and what about Alejandro Valverde? The veteran of Movistar would like to score in a big round in his farewell year.
Blue Construction Man
Bouwman will try to secure the overall victory in the mountains classification. The 28-year-old rider of Jumbo-Visma has the blue jersey firmly around his shoulders and can secure first place in the hill stage from Marano Lagunare to Santuario Di Castelmonte. He announced before the start that he wanted to participate in a breakaway.
“The most important thing for today is to collect as many points as possible, to secure the blue jersey,” said Bouwman. He leads the standings with 218 points, Italian Giulio Ciccone is in second place with 103 points. In Friday’s stage there are three climbs: first of the third and first category and then the final climb to Santuario Di Castelmonte of the second category. The cyclists also ride a bit through Slovenia.
“I haven’t received the jersey yet, there are still a lot of points to be earned,” Bouwman said on Thursday after the eighteenth stage. “I will do everything I can to be in the break on Friday.” A tough mountain stage is scheduled for Saturday. The Giro ends on Sunday with a time trial in Verona.
View here the standings in the various rankings†
Stage 20: Belluno – Marmolada
- When: Saturday 28 May, starts at 12:15 pm
- Distance: 168 kilometers, arrival around 5.15 pm
- Type: mountain stage
- Difficulty: *****
The sixth mountain stage is a worthy conclusion in the Dolomites, with three very tough climbs: the Passo San Pellegrino, the Passo Pordoi and the Marmolada.
The ride starts in Belluno and takes a short detour across the Piave River valley via Sedico, Santa Giustina and Sospirolo before starting the climb. The Passo di San Pellegrino has gradients of over 15% beyond Falcade. The Passo Pordoi is the ‘Cima Coppi’ of this Giro 2022 or highest mountain, with a passage at 2,239 meters. The very last climb of this Giro is the Passo Fedaia (cat. 1), 14 kilometers long where the gradients remain steadily above 10% with a maximum of 18% in the last six kilometers past Malga Ciapela.
Stage 21: Verona – Verona
- When: Sunday 29 May, first rider starts at 13:55
- Distance: 17.4 kilometers, finish last rider around 5.10 pm
- Type: individual time trial
- Difficulty: ***
The Giro d’Italia 2022 ends with a time trial over 17.1 kilometers with start and finish in Verona. The trail has a 5% incline climb halfway through and then a four-kilometer descent back into town, where the finish line is at the beautiful Verona Arena.