Well everybody, it's Giro time already again and my money is on Ivan Basso this year although there are others to consider. I pasted this from
www.cyclingnews.com and a closer look reveals that this Giro is going to be mountainous!
The 2006 Giro parcours in depth
Stage 1 - Saturday May 6: Seraing, 6.2km - A tricky start in Seraing with a 2km climb and technical descent that is perfect for defending champion Paolo Savodelli.
Stage 2 - Sunday May 7: Mons/Charleroi-Marcinelle, 203km - A fast, flat stage for the sprinters
Stage 3 - Monday, May 8: Perwez-Namur, 202km - last 2km climb to famous Fortress
Stage 4 - Tuesday, May 9: Wanze-Hotton, 182km - Hilly day with two climbs from the Ardennes classics, Cote de Wanne and Stavelot-La Haute Levèè.
Wednesday, 10 May: Rest Day (air transfer to Italy)
Stage 5 - Thursday, May 11: Piacenza-Cremona Team Time Trial, 38km - First Giro TTT since '89 will be fast with tailwind.
Stage 6 - Friday, May 12: Busseto-Forlì, 223km - A flat sprinters stage to the hometown of Italian champ of yore Ercole Baldini
Stage 7 - Saturday, May 13: Cesena-Saltare, 230km - A long, tough day through the hinterlands of the Marche region over the climbs of S. Marino, Monte Catria and Monte delle Cesane.
Stage 8 - Sunday, May 14: Civitanova Marche-Maieletta (Passo Lanciano), 171km - The first mountaintop finish to Passo Lanciano, a tough climb in the mountains of Abruzzo with a steep final 12km to 1306m.
Stage 9 - Monday, May 15: Francavilla Al Mare-Termoli, 147km - A sprinters stage along the Adriatic coast to Termoli
Stage 10 - Tuesday, May 16: Termoli-Peschici, 190km - Tricky, technical uphill finish in Peschici could cause time gaps
Wednesday, 17 May: Transfer & Rest Day
Stage 11 - Thursday, May 18: Pontedera ITT, 50km - A flat, fast individual time test in the birthplace of the Vespa scooter
Stage 12 - Friday, May 19: Livorno-Sestri Levante, 165km - With the steep Passo del Bracco near the finish, sprinters may not make it to Sestri Levante together
Stage 13 - Saturday, May 20: Alessandria-La Thuile, 216km - This first real mountain stage of the '06 Giro heads across Piemonte to Val d'Aosta, first passing the Colle S. Carlo at 1951m, before a tough mountaintop finish near the Passo Piccolo San Bernardo in La Thuile ski station.
Stage 14 - Sunday, May 21: Aosta-Domodossola, 224km - This is a transitional mountain stage that starts in Aosta, climbs up the Gran San Bernardo, descends to Switzerland, climbs up Passo Sempione and descends back to Italy for the finish in Domodossola.
Stage 15 - Monday, May 22: Mergozzo-Brescia, 182km - This dead flat sprinters stage to Brescia is probably the easiest stage of the 2005 Giro.
Stage 16 - Tuesday, May 23: Rovato-Trento (Monte Bondone), 180km - The Dolomiti begin with a hard stage via Passo Maniva to another uphill finish on the legendary Giro climb of Monte Bondone, 1650m. above Trento.
Stage 17 - Wednesday, May 24: Termeno-Plan de Corones, 158km - A brutal stage with 50km of climbing that has another mountaintop finish. Starting in Termeno, Stage 17 goes via Passo di Pinei, over Passo delle Erbe to finish atop Plan de Corones at 2273m., with the last 5.5km up an unpaved gravel road next to a ski slope with sections that have a 24% grade!
Stage 18 - Thursday, May 25: Sillian-Gemona del Friuli, 227km - The Giro heads east through the Julian Alps, passed through the area shaken by a major earthquake in 1976, then heads into Austria for 30km before moving back to Italy. First climb is Monte Croce Carnico, with the steep 7km Cuel di Forcia waiting with 55km to go to Gemona.
Stage 19 - Friday, May 26: Pordenone-Passo di San Pellegrino, 220km - This is the hardest stage of '06 Giro, with 7 hours of racing and 4000m of climbing. First on the menu for Friday is the Forcella Staulanza, the steep back to back Passo Fedaia and Passo Pordoi, then the difficult ascent to finish atop Passo di San Pellegrino, where the steep last 7km will break things up.
Stage 20 - Saturday, May 27: Trento-Aprica, 212km - After Friday's ugly stage, Saturday's penultimate stage of the Giro isn't much better, with another 4000m of climbing and seven hours in the saddle. After a second stage start in Trento, Stage 20 climbs the Passo Tonale, then up the steep PassoGavia to the Giro's high point of Cima Coppi (2618m), the brutally steep Mortirolo where the Memorial Pantani awaits before the descent to Aprica.
Stage 21 - Sunday May 28: Ghisallo-Milano, 140 km - The final stage is from the Madonna del Ghisallo Museum into Milano, for the traditional criterium finish.
2006 Giro d' Italia
