Giro or Tour next year? That is the big dilemma that Remco Evenepoel and Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl face in their annual planning.
Normally the world champion would always go for the Giro. But the rainbow jersey might make Evenepoel change his mind.
The course designer of the Tour of Italy has already done his best to lure Evenepoel to the Giro.
On the opening day A time trial of 18.4 kilometers along the Adriatic Sea is on the menu in Abruzzo, Giro organizer RCS announced today. That time trial runs almost entirely over a cycle path, with a short climb towards the finish in the end.
Of 2e dag presents the riders with a marathon stage on slightly undulating roads. Cut for the sprinters.
The Giro organization also revealed an uphill finish: in 7th stage. The riders will then go above 2,000 meters for the first time, arriving at Gran Sasso D’Italia (Campo Imperatore). In total there are 4,000 vertical meters to overcome that day.
The complete route of the Giro will be known on October 17.
Also in 2001 the Giro start in Abruzzo took place. Then a Belgian took off with the first pink jersey: Rik Verbrugghe.
In the prologue in Pescara, Verbrugghe then crashed over 8 km with a record average of 58.874 km/h. 4 days later he lost his pink jersey to Dario Frigo.
