The 5 Must-See Stages in the 2018 Giro d’Italia

With three stages in Israel, the 2018 Giro will be the first Grand Tour in history to start outside of Europe. It opens with an undulating and technical 9.7-kilometer individual time trial in downtown Jerusalem—which reminds us of the 2017 Tour de France’s penultimate stage through downtown Marseille. Froome won that stage and will be a favorite to win the pink jersey as the Giro’s first overall leader. If Dumoulin races, he’ll be Froome’s biggest threat, both on this stage and throughout the rest of the Giro.

After three days in Israel, a rest day transfer brings the riders to Sicily for three hard stages, the last of which ends atop Mount Etna. These days will be hot and hilly. Stages 4 and 5 are winding and punchy with short, uphill finishes that could be difficult to control. Bahrain-Merida’s Vincenzo Nibali, a two-time Giro winner, has yet to announce if he’s racing. If he does, expect the Sicilian and his team to attack often in an attempt weaken their rivals. And they better act quickly: The long, steady climb to Etna’s observatory, at the end of Stage 6, suits both Froome and Dumoulin.

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This year’s Giro makes a brief visit to the Dolomite mountains of northeastern Italy, with two daunting stages at the end of the second week. Of the two, Saturday’s Stage 14 is the toughest, thanks to a summit finish on the infamous Monte Zoncolan. A steep, winding climb with a nearly 12-percent average gradient and pitches that hit 22 percent over 10.1 kilometers, the Zoncolan is one of the hardest climbs in Giro history. This could be a day when Froome and Dumoulin’s rivals claw back some time, as both riders often struggle on super-steep climbs where it’s hard to maintain a consistent rhythm. Italian champion Fabio Aru, who won the first summit finish of last year’s Tour de France, relishes this terrain and will do his best to use it to his advantage.

If Froome and Dumoulin do lose some time at the end of the second week, they should regain much if not all of it during the flat, 34.5-kilometer individual time trial that opens the third. Should Dumoulin race, this stage could become an intriguing battle between two of the world’s best time trialists. If he doesn’t, it’s Froome’s stage to lose.

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Before the final stage in downtown Rome, the race spends three days in the Alps, where three summit finishes will determine the final winner. Stage 19 should be the hardest, with four categorized climbs including a tough ascent to the finish in Bardonecchia. But it’s the Colle delle Finestre, the day’s second climb, that will make riders anxious and fans excited. The highest mountain in the race, the Finestre is long and steady, with an average gradient a little over 9 percent. But the final 8 kilometers are unpaved, adding a gravel twist to an already brutal ascent. The summit comes 70 kilometers from the finish, but this climb will still play a major role in determining the winner of the stage—and possibly the Giro.

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