The Road to Rome: Giro d’Italia 2025 Predictions
Ah, Italy — the country known for pasta, wine, beautiful landscapes, and general romance sure knows how to put on a bike race. As we gear up for the 2025 edition of the Giro d’Italia, we’re anticipating a great three weeks of racing from some of the sport’s biggest stars. From the depart in Albania to the conclusion in Rome, here’s everything you need to know for the next three weeks of racing.
Image from Flickr.
The Giro d’Italia kicks off three weeks of racing across Albania and Italy on May 9th. As the first Grand Tour of the season, it builds up a lot of hype — and why not? The battle for the Maglia Rosa may end up being one of the most exciting (and close) competitions of the year! Additionally, spectators have a lot of great racing to look forward to. From monster climbing days to harrowing sprints, there will be a little bit of everything across all 21 stages.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe course promises three weeks of challenging and technical racing on a backdrop of gorgeous landscapes.
Racing in the 2025 Giro d’Italia will take place all across the boot. From the seaside to the high mountains, spectators will get to see a little bit of everything throughout the race! Over the course of the race, the riders will traverse almost 3,500km and cover almost 52,000 meters of altitude change. Wow!
What about the competition? Most of the climbing in this year’s Giro is reserved for the second and third weeks. Stage 7 is the first time for a real GC fight, with a not-THAT-steep uphill finish to warm up for what’s to come. Stages 19 and 20 should be the most decisive, with a climb up Colle delle Finestre to crown the victor of this year’s edition. Although this climb was not really included in cycling races before the mid 2000s, it’s now an exciting staple of the race and should tie up the 2025 Giro with a satisfying bow.
After the Grand Partenza (more on that in a second), we’ll see quite a few consecutive sprint stages, giving the faster men of the peloton a chance at their stage wins. There will be two total time trials in this year’s contest, one on this coming Saturday and another moving into the second week that will finish near the leaning tower of Pisa!
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Albanian start brings a Balkan twist to this year’s race.
The Grand Partenza — equivalent to the Grand Depárt in the Tour de France — for this year’s Giro is in Albania, with three exciting stages. While this Balkan country might not be known for its cycling or produce as many star riders as its nearby neighbor Slovenia, it remains a lovely destination in its own right. Food, culture, and scenery in Albania are all top-notch, and anyone visiting to see the initial stages in person will get to enjoy all three!
Bike touring is somewhat popular in the Albania hills, valleys, and mountains, and the country is considered somewhat underrated compared to more popular cycling vacation spots like the French Alps or Andorra. The pros of the peloton will get a chance to check out this hidden gem for themselves across the first three stages.
The first stage starts with some medium-sized mountains and a reduced bunch sprint finish that will be suitable for some of the more durable sprinters in the peloton. The riders will travel from Durrés to Tirana, where they will stay for a time trial in the city. This TT could have some impact on GC standings through the first and second weeks. Finally, a moderate climby day in Vlorë could be a first chance for a breakaway to stick. After that, the race will move into Italy where it will stay until the arrival in Rome!
Embed from Getty ImagesTop contenders come ready to face off.
What makes the GC competition at the Giro so compelling this year? Unlike the other Grand Tours of 2025, it lacks one key contender at the start line: Tadej Pogačar. While his victories at the Tour and Vuelta may feel all but guaranteed considering his strength this season, Pogi won’t defend his Giro title from 2024. That means the field is wide open for another rider to wear the Maglia Rosa in Rome this year — whether they be a former champion, or a never-before GT winner.
Read more: See how Pogačar’s season has been going so far in our recent article, Evenepoel versus Pogačar: A Rivalry in the Ardennes
Any Giro preview would be remiss not to mention Pogačar’s countryman and likely victor of this year’s contest, Primož Roglič of Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe. The top favorite for GC has already won the Giro d’Italia in 2023, and it’s looking more and more likely that a repeat is within reach. Spectators in 2023 may recall Roglič’s Stage 20 time trial victory, where he snatched the pink jersey away from Geraint Thomas and won by a significant time margin. While there will not be a similar stage at the end of this year’s race, there will be plenty of opportunities for Rogla to show his prowess on the TT bike, especially in the first half of the race.
His main competitor in that arena, Juan Ayuso of UAE Team Emirates, is no slouch in a time trial, either! But considering the spanking he receiving in the Volta a Catalunya from an off-form Roglič, reports of his chances in GC seem a tad overhyped at this point. Only time will tell whether Ayuso’s form has improved enough to snag the pink jersey on a mountain stage, and even more to see if he’ll hold onto it by the end of three weeks.
Embed from Getty ImagesOutside GC favorites include Mikel Landa (Soudal-Quickstep), Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious), Richard Carapaz(EF-Education EasyPost), and Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers). Keep an eye out for the Canadian phenomenon Derek Gee as he takes GC leadership for his team as well. Although he may have a chance at a top ten or even top five, it will be more exciting to see how he electrifies climbing stages or even targets some breakaways throughout the race.
The top favorites will each be supported by a strong cast of helpers — some who may be looking to get a stage win or two along the way. UAE is bringing excellent climbing support for Ayuso, including Adam Yates, Brandon McNulty, and Jay Vine. On the Red Bull side, Jan Tratnik, Dani Martinez, and Jai Hindley will help Roglič in the mountains. These two teams look evenly matched coming into the race, so let’s stay tuned and see how things progress for them until they reach Rome.
Embed from Getty ImagesYoungsters and lesser-known faces hope to make a mark this May.
UAE isn’t only bringing Ayuso and his helpers: they’re also eager to showcase some of their younger talent. Issac Del Toro had his first chance at Grand Tour racing in the Vuelta a España last year. Now he’ll get to perform on some Italian climbs and we may see a stage win from him! Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe is also bringing their own youngster, Giulio Pellizzari. Although both of these riders will likely be in support roles throughout the race, they may still get their moments to shine — or a chance at the white jersey, depending on how things shake out.
Another newbie to look out for in the peloton is Johannes Staune-Mittet, now riding for Decathlon AG2R. Just in his first year since leaving his former team Visma Lease-a-Bike, he’s ready for his first chance at a Grand Tour as well. Joshua Tarling from Ineos was also at last year’s Vuelta, but was forced to abandon after a crash. Let’s hope Italy treats him better so we can see some of his time trial skills on display.
Embed from Getty ImagesFor some, Italy offers a chance at redemption.
The elephant in the room for the Giro d’Italia is Wout Van Aert, coming off a mildly disappointing classics season. Although the Belgian rider wasn’t able to get any wins in the Flemish forests or on the cobblestones this year, he’s no doubt looking forward to seeing if he can find some stage wins in Italy. It may seem easy to look at Van Aert’s season and call it a bit of a disappointment so far, but hold that thought — after being very consistent in his spring races, it may only be a matter of time until he get a win in. Let’s hope that he comes in with good form and gets a chance at victory!
Embed from Getty ImagesOthers are also looking to polish up their season record with a few wins. Kaden Groves was unfortunately sidelined in Catalunya with knee issues and didn’t finish the race. Now, as the leader for his team Alpecin-Deceuninck in the Giro, he’s feeling a bit better and focusing on his goals. He may even have a shot to take the Maglia Rosa in the sprint on Stage 1… with a caveat. He’ll be up against Mads Pedersen, who’s been having a great season so far. A chance at a three-way sprint between Groves, Pedersen, and Van Aert, each with their own narratives and goals for the race, will make for compelling viewing on our first day in Italy!
Read more: Do Early Season Results Actually Mean Anything?
How to watch: Giro d’Italia broadcast info for 2025
Thankfully for fans around the world, it’s possible to watch the TV broadcast of this year’s Giro d’Italia from just about anywhere.
The global broadcast rights holder, Warner Bros. Discovery, will be serving the race coverage through some of its own channels, including Eurosport in the EU, TNT Sports in the United Kingdom, and Discovery+ and Max in the United States.
In Canada, Flo Sports will broadcast the Giro this year. European broadcasters may carry their own coverage of the race, such as L’Équipe TV in France, NOS in the Netherlands, ARD ZDF in Germany, and Planet TV in Slovenia.
For the Grand Partenza, Albania will air special live coverage of the first three stages on RTSH. However, for the remaining stages, they will show highlights only, the same as in many other local channels. This serves to emphasize how much potential there is for global broadcasting of cycling and building an audience for this wonderful sport.
Embed from Getty ImagesDon’t forget: we can all do our part to support cycling, and a Grand Tour is the perfect time to do that. This year, what better way to enjoy the race than to invite a friend to watch a stage with you? Whether you decide to throw a “watch party” or not, I hope you enjoy each and every bit of this year’s Giro d’Italia!
Are you ready for the 2025 Giro d’Italia? Which stages are you looking forward to the most? Let us know in the comments or on social media! ★
