It's uphill here! Once again this year, the pros have a lot of metres in altitude to conquer. To be precise, 52,350 metres. Often a torture for the sprinters, this is where the overall classification of the Tour is decided. TOUR takes a look at the decisive mountain stages of the Tour of Italy.
From the Mediterranean, we head into the Apuan Alps, as this part of the Apennines is known. The Alpe San Pellegrino could become a real executioner - even before the Alps are reached.
Photo: RCS SportElevation profile of the 11th stage
Photo: RCS SportThe 11th stage on the mapPhoto: RCS SportThe Alpe San Pellegrino climb on stage 11Photo: RCS SportThe Toano climb on the 11th stage
Stage 15 | Sunday, 25 May | Fiume Veneto - Asiago | 219 kilometres | 3900 vertical metres
Last year, Tadej Pogačar secured overall victory on Monte Grappa, the solitary climb on the edge of the Po Valley. This time it is only a stopover - but the longest climb of the tour. Then it's on to the Asiago plateau.
Photo: RCS SportElevation profile of the 15th stagePhoto: RCS SportThe 15th stage on the map
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Photo: RCS SportThe ascent to Monte Grappa on the 15th stagePhoto: RCS SportThe Dori climb on the 15th stage
Stage 16 | Tuesday, 27 May | Piazzola sul Brenta - San Valentino (Brentonico) | 203 kilometres | 4900 vertical metres
The rollercoaster ride towards Lake Garda has it all: especially the finale over the "Monte Velo", as the climb to Santa Barbara is known to cycle tourists, and the San Valentino ski station in the Monte Baldo massif.
Photo: RCS SportElevation profile of the 16th stagePhoto: RCS SportThe 16th stage on the mapPhoto: RCS SportThe Candriai climb on the 16th stagePhoto: RCS SportThe Passo di Santa Barbara on the 16th stagePhoto: RCS SportThe San Valentino (Brentonico) climb on the 16th stage
Stage 17 | Wednesday, 28 May | San Michele All'Adige (Fondazione Edmund Mach) - Bormio | 155 kilometres | 3800 vertical metres
There is no respite for the professional cyclists: from the Adige Valley, the route climbs forever towards the Tonale Pass - then the infamous Mortirolo follows, albeit from the shorter and easier side, which also has 16 per cent peaks.
Photo: RCS SportElevation profile of the 17th stagePhoto: RCS SportThe 17th stage on the mapPhoto: RCS SportThe Passo del Mortirolo on the 17th stage
Unfamiliar terrain: The climbs on the edge of the Aosta Valley may not have famous names, but they have the format of difficult Alpine passes - a total of 4700 metres of altitude to climb.
Photo: RCS SportElevation profile of the 19th stagePhoto: RCS SportThe 19th stage on the mapPhoto: RCS SportThe Col Tzecore climb on the 19th stagePhoto: RCS SportThe Col Saint-Pantaleon climb on the 19th stagePhoto: RCS SportThe Col de Joux on the 19th stagePhoto: RCS SportThe Antagnod climb on the 19th stage
In 2005, the Colle delle Finestre gravel pass was on the menu of the Tour of Italy for the first time. Chris Froome started a par force ride there in 2018, securing overall victory. This year's Giro winner will be decided in Sestriere.
Photo: RCS SportElevation profile of the 20th stagePhoto: RCS SportThe 20th stage on the mapPhoto: RCS SportThe Colle del Lys on the 20th stagePhoto: RCS SportThe Colle delle Finestre on the 20th stagePhoto: RCS SportThe climb to Sestriere on the 20th stagePhoto: Getty Images/LUCA BETTINI/AFPChris Froome started a memorable solo on the Colle delle Finestre
Andreas Kublik has been travelling the world's race courses as a professional sports expert for TOUR for a quarter of a century - from the Ironman in Hawaii to countless world championships from Australia to Qatar and the Tour de France as a permanent business trip destination. A keen cyclist himself with a penchant for suffering - whether it's mountain bike marathons, the Ötztaler or a painful self-awareness trip on the Paris-Roubaix pavé.
