The Giro d’Italia’s ‘Grand Arrival’
will be at the Circus Maximus for the first time this year as
the world’s second biggest stage race behind the Tour de France
ends in Rome for the fourth year running next month, organisers
said Wednesday.

   
Newspaper and TV proprietor and Torino soccer club owner Urbano
Cairo, chairman of the RCS media group which owns the La
Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper, Italy’s biggest selling daily
and the organiser of the event, said the arrival at the ancient
Roman chariot racing stadium will be a “grand celebration”.

   
It will be the fourth consecutive year and the eighth in its
history that the Italian capital will host the final stage of
the Giro d’Italia, now in its 109th edition.

   
The final route was unveiled on Wednesday at the Capitoline
Hill: starting from EUR, then passing through Ostia, along the
Roman coast, and finally returning through the city streets with
the finish at the Circus Maximus.

   
This last stage is a new departure from last year’s edition, for
an event that, as Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, emphasized,
“is becoming a tradition.

   
“We can no longer talk about experimentation,” added the mayor
at the press conference, which also unveiled the new Maglia Rosa
lader’s pink jersey, which will have “Io sono Friuli Venezia
Giulia” as its official sponsor, as well as a dedicated section
on the collar to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Italian
Republic.

   
For this reason, Cairo, president of RCS MediaGroup, called the
Giro “a grand celebration,” made so by Rome, which “provides a
fantastic setting.”
Also in attendance were RCS Group CEO Paolo Bellino, Rome’s
councilor for major events, sport, tourism, and fashion,
Alessandro Onorato, and former champion and two-time Giro winner
Vincenzo Nibali, who described the capital as “an incredible
showcase” for the Giro.

   
The race through the streets of Rome is scheduled for May 31,
when the competing cyclists will battle it out over the 131 km
route. Between EUR and Circus Maximus, there will be many
passages through iconic sites, from the Colosseum to the Baths
of Caracalla, with the urban section structured as a 9.5km
circuit to be repeated eight times.

   
It will alternate between short undulations and long straights
connected by sometimes challenging curves.

   
The road surface will be mostly asphalt with a few short
sections of cobblestones, the famous “sanpietrini.”
The final kilometers, however, will feature only a few slight
changes in direction.

   
The final 350m straight is asphalt, with a 5% gradient halfway
through the final kilometer.

   
According to Nibali, the route is poised to provide thrills.

   
“After all, Rome is a city that always offers unique
experiences,” said The Shark, who retired in 2022.

   
Nibali, one of seven cyclists who have won all three of
cycling’s Grand Tours in their career – having won the 2010
Vuelta a España, the 2013 and 2016 Giro d’Italias, and the 2014
Tour de France, added:
“I’ve never had the pleasure of finishing the Corsa Rosa here,
and I’m disappointed about that, but it has been wonderful to
see the relationship between the city and the Giro evolve.”

   

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