The race starts at Muggia.

The historic city of Trieste is located next to the Balkans. It is a seaport in north eastern Italy and situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south, east and north of the city. The populous is around 200,000 people.

The route seems almost pancake flat not far from the coastline except what appears to be one easy cat 3 climb up Montebello, although there are a few more bumps in the course map. From what I can find, the Montebello appears to be around only a few km long with sections as much as 7 percent. The route itself goes from Muggia to Trieste. While the course map indicates 59km, less then 50km is indicated for the course, then what is described as a spectacular evening prologue. From Sea level, Montebello appears to be around 600-700 feet high on Google Earth. Also, there will be circuits in both Muggia and Trieste. It appears 4 laps in Muggia and 3 laps on the finishing circuit of Trieste.

Diana Ziliute won stage 12 in 1997 in the Province of Trieste at Udine.

The race continues from Sacile.

Friuli Venezia is Italy's most North-Eastern region. It covers an area of 7,856 km and is the fifth smallest region of the country. It borders Austria to the north and Slovenia to the east. To the south it faces the Adriatic Sea and to the west its internal border is with the Veneto region. The race continues from Sacile.

Transfer from Trieste to Sacile

Stage 2 winds through these scenic regions. Nothing to cry home to Mom about yet! It's got a few little climbs, maybe around cat 4, but no serious climbing in these regions. More then likely the riders are more terrified of the days to come with the Stelvio, but this sounds more like cruise control regions with beautiful scenery near Triviso.

The first site on the Giro is Portobuffole which is in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region of Veneto. It's located about 50 km northeast of Venice and about 30 km northeast of Treviso. The Municipality of Portobuffole contains mostly Subdivisions, villages and hamlets. The medieval town was first inhabited by the Romans. Casa Gaia is a beautiful palace that was built in 14th century and is located close to Piazza Beccaro which is the main piazza of Portobuffole. The main attractions are The municipal tower, The Duomo and Church of San Rocco.

Elevation, Kilometers and Miles

Next stop is Fontanelle. Fontanelle is another small municipality in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region Veneto, located about 45 km north of Venice and about 25 km northeast of Treviso. Looks mostly flat, some rolling regions about 25 miles into the stage before hitting Crocetta del Montello. Nearly 40 miles in they hit a short climb that looks about a cat 4 at yet another small community called Crocetta del Montello.

Crocetta del Montello means Little Cross of the Little Hill, and refers to the Montello, an isolated hill about 370m in elevation that rises from the Piave's alluvial plain at the west edge of the town. The route appears to drop a tad as it heads into Montebelluna. You might want to check out the church of Santa Maria while at this small commune. Of course the riders can't stop, but maybe you can!

The route then drops a bit more down to Caerano San Marco which is a small town of industries such as clothing and Sportswear. The Italian clothing companies there were founded in 1948 by Roberto Danieli. They make shoes, t-shirts and other items such as backpacks and bags. From that region the course or route appears to continue to drop off ever so slightly until it bottoms out and winds it way into the Riese Pio X.

Route Map with locations

The Riese Pio X is near the headquarters of Pasta Zara and is a Municipality in Northeast Italy also located in the provinces of Treviso in the Region of Veneto. The stage allows perhaps for some breakaways and then some chase groups to reform on the last flats stretches into Riese Pio X. The Caerano San Marco is where Nicole Brandli made her mark to win the 2005 edition. Nicole Brandi retired this year. Gone are both the two great Giro De Femminile champions, Fabiana Luperini and Nicole Brandli.

In 2007 Giorgia Bronzini of Safi Pasta took stage one at Riese Pio X to Pontecchio Polesine in the province of Rovigo.

The race continues from Caerano San Marco.

The ITT starts in Caerano San Marco, the small town known for it's industries of clothing and Sportswear. Geox is located in Biadene Montebelluna, an Italian brand of shoe and apparel manufactured utilising waterproof breathable fabrics. Both are provinces of Treviso.

Transfer from Riese Pio X to Caerano San Marco

The course runs around 17km and is basically flat and straight without many turns or otherwise techincal challenges. It would seem to favor the best TT riders, so this gives them a chance to build up a margin that will give them a buffer in the days to come. There are a few gradual sections that ascend less then a few hundred meters so it should not be a problem at all for specialists.

In 2005 Nicole Brandli riding for Bigla took stage one at Caerano di San Marco in the province of Treviso.

Elevation, Kilometers and Miles

Route Map with locations and Distance Markers

The race continues from Ficarolo.

Ficarolo is a comune in the Province of Rovigo in the Italian region of Veneto which dates back to the Roman period. It is located about 90 km southwest of Venice and about 30 km southwest of Rovigo. The country owes it name to the route Ficarolo which according to tradition, a disastrous flood came that overwhelmed the river of Po in 1152. Po broke the banks in several places at Ficarolo and flooded the valleys of Polesine. You have heard of leaning Tower of Piza. There is also a leaning Tower of Ficarolo, check that out!

Transfer from Biadene Montebelluna to Ficarolo

Melara is also a Province of Rovigo in the Italian region Veneto. This is where Regina Schleicher won in 2005, but more importantly of historical importance is that she won 4 stages in 2003. In the same region Bronzini and Teutenberg both took stages wins in the regions of Polesine. The stage is bascially flat and it could get pretty hot this time of the year. Like last year, they could encounter the hot lonely dog days of summer. It could be a good stage for a breakaway by one of the power riders, but wait and see.

In 2008 Ina Yoko Teutenberg took stage one at Lendinara in the province of Rovigo.

Elevation, Kilometers and Miles

Route Map with locations and Distance Markers

The race continues from Orta San Giulio.

After a long transfer from the Province of Veneto to the Province of Novara in the Italian region of Piedmont at Orta San Giulio, the race resumes around Lake Orta. The town Orta San Giulio resides on the eastern bank of Lake Orta close to Isola San Giulio. The municipality borders on Pettenasco to the north, Miasino and Ameno to the east, Bolzano Novarese and Gozzano to the south, and San Maurizio d'Opaglio and Pella to the west across the lake. It is well known for the nearby Sacro Monte, which is a site of pilgrimage and worship. In 2003, the Sacro Monte of Orta was inserted by UNESCO in the World Heritage List.

Transfer from Lendinara to Orta San Giulio

The riders will race three 40km laps running around the lake for a total of 122km from start to finish. The start at Orta San Giulio will goes counterclockwise into Pettenasco very quickly before it circles the lake. On the 3rd lap the riders finish in Pettenasco. Once again very little climbing, some small hills resembling cat-4 climbs.

Elevation, Kilometers and Miles

In 2008 a ITT was held from Pettenasco to Stresa at the lake with Eleonora Ellen van Dijk of Holland winning the day. I have no other record of any pro road events in that region. A number of these courses are as if new, or have been used very seldom in the history of the Giro De Femminile. After five stages, I see very little that could blow open the race in the way of climbing or anything unusual, but Cervelo and HTC both have solid teams and they will try to wear down the weaker teams before the mountains so their climbers can shine. I would be surprised if someone gained a big advantage by the end of stage 6, but anything is possible. I do hope none of the great climbers crash out of the race before the Stelvio. That would be a huge disappointment.

Route Map with locations and Distance Markers.

The race continues from Gallarate.

Gallarate is a city and comune of Lombardy, northern Italy, in the Province of Varese. It has a population of some 50,000. It is the junction of railways to Varese, Laveno and Arona. Some 10 km to the west are the electric works of Vizzola, where 23,000 hp are derived from the river Ticino. Its territory is crossed by the river Arnetta, and belongs to the Ticino River National Park. The city in the first part of 19th century had a strong textile industry. Notable landmarks are numerous historic Churches like the Santa Maria Assunta.

Transfer from Pettenasco to Gallarate.

After a short transfer from Pettenasco to Gallarate, the race continues alongside yet another lake (Varese) and beautiful scenery. The tour enters the final phase where the KOM competition will heat up, and the mountains to come. Stage 6 still pales in comparison though with mild short cat 4 climbs and a couple KOM's as in the previous stage. However the stage is long could be technical, and experience teams will continue to wear down their rivals. Time is running out to gain an edge over the climbers, as stage 7 is where the real climbing begins.

Elevation, Kilometers and Miles

The stage crosses into the region of Varese which was the region of former champions like Alfredo Binda, and it's the home of past world championships and world cup events. In 2007 Nicole Brandli won at Cittiglio during stage 5 of the Giro De Femminile. According to the original Giro maps, there appear to be loops at both ends of the course which ends in Arcisate.

Route Map with locations and Distance Markers.

The race continues from Como.

Como is a city and commune in Lombardy Italy, 45 kilometers north of Milan. Situated at the southern tip of the south-west arm of Lake Como, it is the capital of the province of Como and directly borders on many communes and the Swiss towns. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps has made Como a popular tourist destination and the city contains numerous works of art, churches, gardens, museums, theatres, parks and palaces. Como was the birthplace of a good number of historically notable figures, including the poet Caecilius, one of the more substantial literary figures.

Transfer from Arcisate to Como

The transfer from Arcisate to Como is not too bad, scenic and less then an hour by car. This is the first time the tour enters Lake Como for the women. This is also the region which the great Fabio Casartelli came from. He was killed tragically in the Tour De France, but he has not been forgotten. I still have the tape recording of when he won the World Championships in Barcelona. That same year Kathy Watt won the road race just ahead of Jeannie Longo.

Route Map with locations and Distance Markers.

This is a difficult stage and one for the climbers. This is the first serious day of climbing which perhaps could give the climbers a leading edge. I am assuming if Mara and Emma are feeling strong and healthy at this point in the race, the battle begins today in the mountains. Edita Pucinskaite is a good climber as well, but she's older now and I'm not sure she can still climb with the best. Since Nicole Brandli and Fabiana Luperini have retired, I know of no one who can keep pace with Mara and Emma in the mountains. The next three days will tell the story as it's played out over some spectacular climbs and terrain.

Elevation, Kilometers and Miles

The Muro Sormano (Video) starts from the junction along the road that leads to Pian Tivano, after the village of Sormano. The Cima or Muro di Sormano is very hard, so beware riders, this is D for Difficult. After a short descent and a bridge over a stream, begins the ascent to 1107 meters of the Muro De Sormano with a slope average of 17 percent and peaks up to 25 percent. It looks to be cat 2 climb by the Giro map but Climb by Bike states it starts around 800 meters. Here is another map by a Spanish site.

Note: It will be interesting to see if Mara and Emma start the first serious climb together. I think it's important they do, but not really a bad thing if they don't. It's an appetizer compared to the Stelvio, but hopefully their teams will position the climbers in a timely fashion, since losing time on all the big climbs to come is really critical. Also I am aware Cervelo has the better team as does HTC, and it's going to be difficult for the USA National team, but wait and see!

The road is very narrow and has four bends. Throughout the climb a series of points written on the asphalt, yard by yard, the elevation, so the cyclist can always know where and what is missing at the end of the climb. At the end of the road you reach the town of Colma Sormano at an altitude of 1124 meters above sea level. The road crosses and continues downhill to Pian del Tivano. The Muro is said to be very dangerous because of very strong gradients. I know the Muro has some splendid history of the men's races in the Tour of Lombardy and is a legend among climbing enthusiasts for its difficulty.

Note: From the best I can tell the Muro seems to be part of a small loop which was not on the Giro map, so if needed you will need to study that in greater detail to see just what the planners had in mind with the precise route. The area is littered with many roads that deviate from the main route. Since the Giro Donne maps are so condensed and hard to read, I gather the course juts out to the Muro then back around, but it's impossible to tell on the original map. Check some older maps of the men's Giro from CN if needed.

QOM - Cima Di Sormano and Cima di Ghisallo

The Colle del Ghisallo is a road pass linking Valassina with the upper Larian Triangle. The point of the pass, at an altitude of 754 meters is located near Magreglio. A few meters from the pass is a small church called the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Ghisallo. Its name comes from a Ghisallo which in medieval times is the place that was attacked by robbers and vowed to Madonna to build a church in his honor if he had escaped.

The ascent of the Ghisallo from the north is traditionally traveled by Tour of Lombardy and has also been repeatedly inserted into the path of the Tour of Italy. For this reason, the Madonna del Ghisallo is particularly revered by cyclists, and in 1948 the Pope Pius XII proclaimed it patron for Universal cyclists. On one occasion blessed by the Pope, was taken from Rome to the shrine by a relay of riders, the last two torchbearers were Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi. Next to the shrine stands the Museum of cycling.

The ascent of Ghisallo can be climbed to the shrine from both sides. From Bellagio, the north side is more challenging which the tour takes as it loops around. From the junction leaving Bellagio, it has a stretch of about a 4 km climb, followed by about 3 km flat with short stretches of downhill, and then again 1.5 mile climb to the Sanctuary. The overall height difference is less than 500 meters, the crossing point is at 754 meters above sea level. The slope is fairly constant with an average of just under 9 percent and peaks up to 14 percent including also the segment level. The average gradient is about 5.5 percent. There are many hairpins in the final stretch.

A more demanding variant is known as Superghisallo. It starts from Bellagio and follow the main road to Guell which ends on the first uphill stretch. The opposite or south side, which reaches from Magreglio through Canzo rises much more gently and presents difficulties with slopes at 10 percent only in the last mile.

For many decades, mostly Italians donated their memorabilia to the Ghisallo Sanctuary. Among them are such as bicycles used by Bartali, Coppi and Merckx in their victories of the Tour de France. Bikes used by Moser for hour record and several pink jerseys, rainbow were also donated there. The museum is spread over three floors and includes a multimedia collection of material on cycling. The most important relics are in the church sanctuary.

The race continues from Chiavenna.

Chiavenna is a commune in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region of Lombardy located about 100 km north of Milan and about 40 km northwest of Sondrio. The municipality of Chiavenna contains subdivisions, mainly villages and hamlets. Chiavenna has a population of 7,244 and 143 industrial firms employing 540 people. The City Hall is located in Piazza Bertacchi, and it is a frequent area for tourists.

Transfer from Albese to Chiavenna.

The transfer from Albese to Chiavenna is a bit long, but not too bad, and more then likely very scenic. Stage 8 continues to tax the riders severely in the mountains. Already after 1500 meters of climbing from Chiavenna they encounter the first QOM that comes at Maloja Pass at 1815 meters. Maloja is a high mountain pass in the Swiss Alps linking Engadin with Val Bregaglia and Chiavenna in Italy. It marks the watershed between the Danube and Po basins. Maloja Pass is about 32 Km from Chiavenna and since Chivenna is 300 meters, that's a gain of nearly 5000 feet in 19 miles.

Elevation, Kilometers and Miles

The 2nd QOM comes at Bernina Pass. The climb is 17 km long with slope average of 7.5 percent that begins just before the border of Italy and Switzerland. It is characterized by constant average slopes with wide carriageway and two traffic lanes. After the pass you can see the imposing Bernina and Rhaetian Western Alps with glacier tongues that graze the meadows and Forests nearby. According to the Giro map, the dip comes after San Moritz and bottoms out before it climbs to Pontresina, so all told Bernina looks to be around perhaps 2600 feet gain in 10 miles. That almost qualifies for a cat 1 climb! Thomson Bike Tours states Bernina has a elevation gain of 3278 feet in 8.7 miles and it's rated as very difficult. That seems like a stretch in the data but let's just say Bernina looks to be a category one climb, D for difficult!

Route Map with locations and Distance Markers.
Note: Maloggia is actually where QOM Maloja Pass is.

The Forcola Livigno at 2315 meters is a mountain pass located in the Rhaetian Alps Italian Swiss border traveled by road from the Italian town of Livigno. The Italian customs are present since it's on the border. Swiss Customs are further down the mountain near the junction where the main road goes to Bernina Pass. The Italian side rising from Livigno presents no long straight-aways but hairpins are interspersed in the route. The other side has a more tortuous course but can at times seem more scenic.

According to Salite.ch, the bottom out dip downhill from Bernina is around 2000 meters, so that's a rise of around 300 meters to the top of the climb. That rings close to what Thomson Bike Tours report for Forcola. They see it as 863 ft in 2.4 miles at 6.7 percent. That's got to hurt after doing those other two big climbs. Overall 57 miles of torture and the Stelvio Pass is tomorrow, so I'm guessing some riders are going to be toast. More then likely there will be some DNS and DNF on the results. Any rider who finishes this tour has my utmost respect and kudos. My hats off to the riders all the way! This is one for the record books!

The race continues from Livigno.

During this years edition with stage nine, we have Livigno to Stelvio on July 10. The stage figures to be about 42 miles. According to the map I adopted from the offical site, the stage appears to start somewhere near Livigno. Stelvio Pass is 16 kilometers or 9 miles from the town of Bormio. Bormio itself rests at 4019 feet elevation. It appears the Bagni di Bormio known as the old Salt Baths of Bormio sits higher at 4300. The Stelvio pass itself rests at 9045 feet, making the climb from Bormio around 5000 feet in total cumlative gain for that last leg! Livigno is about 6000 feet in elevation. The numbers below in the map were rounded off.

Elevations In feet - 6000, 6800, 4500, 4300, 9000
Elevations In meters - 1828, 2072, 1371, 1310, 2743

Trepalle is a village in the Italian Alps, a frazione of Livigno, Lombardy. It is considered to be the village located at the highest altitude in Europe 2,069 meters at the parish church, with the village stretching up to the Passo d'Eira, at 2,209 meters. From Livigno, they climb first to Trepalle. Trepalle is around 6800 feet, so the climbing from the start at Livigno to Trepalle amounts to a 1000 feet for starters. Then according to an uncharted map I see another small climb of probably around 500 feet before they descent into Bormio. All total, I am guessing the cumlative days total is around 6000+ feet of climbing. That's a big day at the office for the women pros coming at the end of a big tour like this. Trepalle is located above Livigno between the Foscagno Pass and the Eira Pass. The northern part of the village, by the Eira Pass, is one of the main skiing areas of Livigno.

Map of Livigno to Stelvio Pass!

As best I can tell, from Bormio to the top of the pass indicates a elevation gain of 5000 feet, although the interactive flash map below lists the actual ascent as closer to 4000. It looks to be broken into two sections, perhaps a gain of 1000 gradually from Bormio, and then the main climb of another 4000 feet. While Bormio is around 4000, the Baths of Bormio sits around 4300 feet.

Note: The south from Bormio is slightly easier but is said to have several dangerous and narrow tunnels with many hairpin bends. The north side from Prato starts easy and gets steeper but has no tunnels. I watched videos of both sides of the climb from Prato and Bormio and Prato is the more longer safer more gradual side. Bormio is the shorter more gut wrenching side! I am wondering how many pro women are going to sign on to this race! Riders take a good look at these photos and videos.

I am going to following the DNS an DNF list, but don't worry, I won't post it! Usually Pedalmag is pretty good at doing that, but I'll be watching this closely. I'm betting a lot of pro women are wondering if they want to take on this years edition of the Giro, but my gut instincts tell me they will flock to it! Probably to test themselves, I know the feeling, I used to do it all the time like climb 9000 feet in the Sierras when it was 105 degrees! I used to do stuff like that to test myself in the heat. I was never afraid of a big climb like that though! Bring it on!!!!!

So riders, check this out!! This is probably the coolest video on the Internet of the climb from Bormio to Stelvio Pass! It goes through like 5 or 6 tunnels in very short order, but the good news is it will be less dangerous cause you won't have to compete with traffic on closed roads set aside for this day of the tour. However, it's going to be a gut buster!

The Passo dello Stelvio is the highest pass in Italy. It is situated in the Alps Retiche, to the north-west of the Montuoso group of the Ortles-Cevedale. Many consider it scenically the nicest of all the Alpine passes. It is possible to climb the Stelvio from two different sides. One from Bormio, the other from Prato, both in Italy but it is also possible to reach the Stelvio from Switzerland, namely from St. Maria. The toughest and most spectacular climbing is the one from Prato, with 48 hairpins, it is regarded as one of the finest continuous hairpin sectors in the Alps. The Passo dello Stelvio is situated in Trentino Alto Adige.

From Livigno to Passo Stelvio the first grand prize of the Mountains is in Trepalle, well above the threshold of two thousand meters of altitude. The descent towards Valdidentro and the climb to Bormio comes just before the beginning of the ascent to Stelvio at an altitude of 2725 meters. The roads in the Upper Valtellina help those who want to attack and take the pink jersey. Once again a day for the climbers which will require bravery and courage.

According to records, there was some type of race from Bormio to Stelvio Pass in 2006. Daniela Secchi was 1st covering 21 km in 1.18'23" averaging 15 km/h.

The race continues from Monza.

Monza is a city on the river Lambro, a tributary of the Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy some 15 km north-northeast of Milan. It is best known for its Grand Prix motor racing circuit, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. Monza is the third-largest city of Lombardy and the most important economic, industrial and administrative center of Brianza, supporting a textile industry and a publishing trade. Monza also hosts a Department of the University of Milan Bicocca, a Court of Justice and several offices of regional administration. Monza Park is one of the largest urban parks in Europe.

Transfer from Stelvio to Monza.

The race starts in Monza using a car racing course. I am not familiar with it, but there appears to be three laps around the moto race course before they head out to complete the 115km journey. No climbing to speak of, basically flat and perhaps like a finishing tour h'orderve like they do in the TDF, however if the race is close, anything can happen on the last day including solo efforts. Perhaps the winner will be toasting champagne instead while riding!

Elevation, Kilometers and Miles

So the Giro De Italia Femminile ends here in what is possibly the most spectacular climbing edition ever held. As for scenery, great town and cities, I don't know without doing a considerable amount of research. More then likely other editions have had more glorious routes with majestic parks, towns and cities of considerable report. However, the tour organizers need to be commended on putting on a very difficult tour for the climbers which rival the days when Longo, Luperini, Canins and Van Moorsel did battle on many famous locations in Europe. I'm betting everyone is going to really enjoy this tour, the mix of extreme pain with pure pleasure.

Those glorious sites and famous climbs probably will offer some healing and spiritual comfort to the riders. There is always a certain chemistry to the mountains, and many times that is where the great heroics and champions come out to play. I am quite sure this edition will create a genuine buzz and interest in the cycling world. Check RAI-3 TV for listings! If nothing else, WCN will cover that, as well as various sites and the Giro Donne organizations will be providing photos and videos of their own.

Route Map with locations and Distance Markers.