As the month of April comes to an end, cycling fans know it's almost time for the seasonal peak of their favorite sport.
The Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy in English) is the first of Europe's three biggest cycling events — alongside the Tour de France and Vuelta a España — and kicks off a summer for all fans of these races to enjoy.
This year's edition of the great Italian race will be the 101st iteration of the event which began in 1909 (the race was postponed during each of the two World Wars). The Giro will start in Jerusalem with a 9.7 km (6 mile) individual time trial and then is followed by two stages in Israel. Cyclists will then have a rest day before 18 stages in Italy before the finish in Rome.
The start in Jerusalem marks just the 13th time that the race will start outside of Italy.
Reigning Giro champion Tom Dumoulin will return to defend his title with Team Sunweb.
Giro d'Italia 2018
When: May 4-27
Location: Begins in Jerusalem and ends in Rome
Streaming: fuboTV (sign up for a 7-day free trial)
Race Route
| Stage | Date, time (ET) | Course | Distance | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 4, 5:40 a.m. | Jerusalem (Israel) | 9.7 km (6 mi) | Individual Time Trial |
| 2 | May 5, 5:40 a.m. | Haifa (Israel) – Tel Aviv (Israel) | 167 km (104 mi) | Flat stage |
| 3 | May 6, 4:20 a.m. | Be'er Sheva (Israel) – Eilat (Israel) | 233 km (145 mi) | Hilly stage |
| -- | May 7 | REST DAY | ||
| 4 | May 8 | Catania – Caltagirone | 191 km (119 mi) | Hilly stage |
| 5 | May 9, 6:05 a.m. | Agrigento – Santa Ninfa | 152 km (94 mi) | Hilly stage |
| 6 | May 10 | Caltanissetta – Mount Etna | 163 km (101 mi) | Mountain stage |
| 7 | May 11 | Pizzo – Praia a Mare | 159 km (99 mi) | Flat stage |
| 8 | May 12 | Praia a Mare – Montevergine | 209 km (130 mi) | Mountain stage |
| 9 | May 13 | Pesco Sannita – Gran Sasso | 224 km (139 mi) | Mountain stage |
| -- | May 14 | REST DAY | ||
| 10 | May 15 | Penne – Gualdo Tadino | 239 km (149 mi) | Hilly stage |
| 11 | May 16 | Assisi – Osimo | 156 km (97 mi) | Hilly stage |
| 12 | May 17 | Osimo – Imola | 213 km (132 mi) | Hilly stage |
| 13 | May 18 | Ferrara – Nervesa della Battaglia | 180 km (112 mi) | Flat stage |
| 14 | May 19 | San Vito al Tagliamento – Monte Zoncolan | 181 km (112 mi) | Mountain stage |
| 15 | May 20 | Tolmezzo – Sappada | 176 km (109 mi) | Mountain stage |
| -- | May 21 | REST DAY | ||
| 16 | May 22 | Trento – Rovereto | 34.5 km (21 mi) | Individual time trial |
| 17 | May 23 | Riva del Garda – Iseo | 155 km (96 mi) | Hilly stage |
| 18 | May 24 | Abbiategrasso – Prato Nevoso | 196 km (122 mi) | Mountain stage |
| 19 | May 25 | Venaria Reale – Bardonecchia | 181 km (112 mi) | Mountain stage |
| 20 | May 26 | Susa – Cervinia | 214 km (133 mi) | Mountain stage |
| 21 | May 27 | Rome – Rome | 118 km (73 mi) | Flat stage |
Giro facts
- The Giro d’Italia 2018 will be the 101st running of the race. Fifteen of the last 21 editions have crowned an Italian rider, including Vincenzo Nibali in 2013 and 2016.
- This edition of the race will start in Israel (stages 1-3), the first time the race has started outside Europe. The first stage is a 9.7km individual time trial in Jerusalem.
- The 2018 race is set to be 3,562.9 km long, the second longest edition since the 2001 race (3,609.1 km in 2017).
- In 2017 Tom Dumoulin became the first Dutch winner of the Giro, while Fernando Gaviria became the first Colombian to win the points jersey in any Grand Tour race.
- The last rider to win the Giro D’Italia and pick up more than two stage victories along the way was Ivan Basso in 2006 (three stage wins).
- Fausto Coppi (1940) is the youngest ever rider to win the Giro d’Italia at 20 years & 8 months, whereas Fiorenzo Magni (1955) is the oldest at 34 years & 6 months.
- This will be Chris Froome’s third entry at the Giro. He finished 32nd in 2009 while riding for Barloworld. In 2010, with Sky, he was disqualified after seen holding onto a police motorbike.
- If Froome wins the Giro he’ll be the seventh rider to win all three Grand Tours (Anquetil, Contador, Gimondi, Hinault, Merckx, Nibali) and the third rider to hold all three titles in a 12 month period (Merckx, Hinault).
- Tom Dumoulin is aiming to become the first rider since Miguel Indurain in 1992-1993 to win back to back editions of the Giro. Since his win in 2017 he has picked up just three other victories in individual races, the 2017 BinckBank Tour as well as the National and World ITT Championships.
- Adam Hansen has entered and finished a record 19 consecutive Grand Tours; this will be the 20th. He is still waiting for a first top 50 GC finish (26 Grand Tour starts) although he does have two stage wins (Giro stage 7 2013, Vuelta stage 19 2014).
- Aside from Chris Froome, Simon Yates is one of three British riders entering the 2018 Giro, alongside Hugh Carthy and Alex Dowsett. Yates is the only one of these three not to have entered the Giro before (Carthy 2017, Dowsett 2013).
- The last two winners of the Mountains Classification in the Giro have been Spanish Team Sky riders named Mikel: Mikel Nieve in 2016 and Mikel Landa in 2017. Italian riders had won this prize in seven of the previous nine editions.