It is now better understood that

Egan Bernal

decided to postpone his desire for his second Tour victory for another year.

Also, that

Mikel Landa

has once again put the Vuelta aside to set the Giro as his great goal for 2021. They knew something when they decided to organize their season in this way, with Milan as the high point of it, although the route of the 'Corsa Rosa 'has not been officially known until this Wednesday.

With the curtain drawn, everything is better understood: if there was ever a Giro specially designed for the greater glory of climbers, without a doubt it was the one that will start in Turin on May 8, in two and a half months.

The opening and closing will be played against the clock, as usual, but there will be no other individual challenge in the three weeks of the race, nor by teams.

Not only that, but the sum of time trial kilometers is by far the shortest of this century: 9 in Turin and 29.4 in Milan, both without mountainous difficulties in between, ideal for specialists to have their space to shine.

Filippo Ganna

, winner of the three 2020 chronicles, world champion and great world dominator of the specialty, is already rubbing his hands.

This year the route runs entirely through the north (starting and ending point) and central Italy, avoiding the south of the peninsula and Sicily, land of great stages on Etna in recent editions.

In addition, it contains the news that the rest days will take place on Tuesdays, instead of the usual Mondays.

This implies that the first round will be 10 stages, one more than what is traditional in the grand tours.

35 km from 'sterrato'

In that initial long week, the peloton will already run into the first three high finishes of the total of seven that the route contains.

The fourth, very leg-breaking, can already take its toll on whoever arrives with just enough strength, but it will be the sixth that begins to make a difference, with the 17 kilometers of final ascent to Ascoli Piceno.

Just before the rest day, Campo Felice will put the best of the general to the test again.

The second week will begin with a stage that passes through several of the usual 'sterrato' sections of Strade Bianche, some 35 kilometers of gravel in total, before entering the first weekend of high mountains.

For Saturday 22 (14th stage) the arrival at Monte Zoncolan, a colossus absent since 2018, with that unsuccessful chase of

Simon Yates

to

Froome

in the iconic final tunnels is set.

And on Monday 24th the queen stage will arrive, 212 kilometers with arrival in Cortina d'Ampezzo after chaining the ascents to Fedaia, Pordoi (Cima Coppi) and Giau in the final stage of the day.

Final chrono in Turin

There will be only five stages left after the second rest day, four of them decisive and one to give the sprinters one last chance (they will have a maximum of seven).

Of the last three mountain stages, the most decisive one points to being the one on the last day, classified as five stars, like those of Zoncolan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.

San Bernardino, Spluga and Alpe Motta will be the last three mountainous difficulties to decide the winner of the Giro.

The wild card will be subtracted, of course, from the final time trial in Turin.

At the expense of the fact that the publication of the route may change some plans, most teams have already assigned their leaders for the Giro.

Reigning champion

Tao Geoghegan Hart will

be absent this year, handing Ineos leadership to

Bernal

.

Landa

, accompanied by

Bilbao

, will be the best Spanish asset, while Movistar will finally grant

Marc Soler

gallons of leader in a great lap

.

Simon Yates, Nibali, Vlasov, Buchmann, Pinot and Bardet

are other confirmed riders for the 'Corsa Rosa'.

Also

Evenepoel

, waiting for him to make a successful recovery from his very tough race in Lombardy last year.

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