Paris (AFP)

The Zoncolan, the great myths of the Dolomites and the Strade bianche: the 104th edition of the Giro respects the classics between the start fixed on May 8 in Turin and the scheduled arrival on May 30 in Milan.

The course, presented Wednesday in Milan less than two months before the kickoff which will honor the 160th anniversary of the unification of the country, this time undermines the importance of the time trial.

Two individual lap times are scheduled for the first and last days, for a total of less than 40 kilometers.

But the Tour of Italy, which should attract elite climbers, notably the Colombian Egan Bernal and the French Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet, gives pride of place to the mountains, concentrated especially in the second half of the event.

The first week is devoted to the rapid descent to the south to Puglia (Foggia), without going into the foot of the Italian boot, before the start of the ascent towards Campo Felice and an unpaved final in the Abruzzo then in Umbria.

The day after the first day of rest, the organizers have planned a big "show": 35 kilometers of Tuscan "Strade bianche", unpaved roads, on the last 70 kilometers leading to Montalcino, one of the great wine sites of the peninsula.

- The queen stage in the Dolomites -

The Zoncolan, one of the hardest climbs in Europe climbed this time by its eastern slope, is tackled at the end of the second week of the race, two days before the queen stage of the Dolomites, the planned "tappone" May 24.

A trilogy of great historic passes crossing the 2,000 meter mark (Fedaia, Pordoi, Giau) leads that day to Cortina d'Ampezzo, the 1956 Olympic resort which will host some of the events of the 2026 Winter Olympics. For a massacrating stage, which displays an overall positive elevation of ... 5,700 meters.

The third week favors novelty in the north of the country.

With three finishes at the top, the most trying being set on the eve of the conclusion on the occasion of a foray into Switzerland via the San Bernardino and the Col du Splügen before arriving at Alpe Motta.

The riders (Ganna, Evenepoel), who will have had to compete for the first pink jersey, will then have a second chance at the finish judged as usual in front of the Duomo in Milan.

For the sprinters (Ewan, Gaviria, Sagan, Nizzolo, Viviani, Dekker), the opportunities will have arisen especially in the first two weeks.

As for the other riders in the general classification (S. Yates, Landa, Nibali, Vlasov), they will be able to explain themselves on many occasions.

No less than seven climbs or summit finishes appear on the 3,450 kilometer route which multiplies historical references.

In addition to leaving for the first capital of the united kingdom of Italy in 1861, the Giro stops in Ravenna, where the great poet Dante Alighieri is buried, who died 700 years ago.

As well as in Foligno, the printing town of his literary masterpiece, the Divine Comedy (14th century).

© 2021 AFP