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Giro d'Italia 2025Preview of stage 1: A surprise package in Tirana at the start

Thomas Goldmann

 · 05.05.2025

Elevation profile of the 1st stage
Photo: RCS Sport
From 9 May to 1 June, the Giro d'Italia 2025 is on the pro riders' calendar. The 21 stages of the 108th edition will take the riders from Durrës in Albania to Rome. This is the 1st stage.
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The most important information about stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia 2025

Route of the 1st stage of the Tour of Italy 2025

Elevation profile of the 1st stagePhoto: RCS SportElevation profile of the 1st stage

The first stage of the Giro d'Italia 2025 leads over 160 kilometres from the port city of Durrës to the Albanian capital Tirana. This means that the Tour of Italy will once again start abroad after 2022 - back then in Hungary. After the start in Durrës, the route is initially flat along the coast. The first challenge of the day awaits after around 65 kilometres with the climb to Gracen (2nd category). The route then continues towards Tirana, where the riders will enter the final circuit shortly after crossing the finish line. This 22-kilometre course is ridden almost entirely once before the finish line is crossed for the second time. This is followed by a complete lap. The 6.9-kilometre Surrel climb with an average gradient of 4.6 per cent and steep ramps of up to 13 per cent must be tackled twice and could be used for decisive attacks.

Profile of the surrel risePhoto: RCS SportProfile of the surrel rise

The final kilometres initially lead downhill from the Surrel climb on wide city roads. The final three kilometres are slightly downhill until the last kilometre. The decisive 500 metres to the finish are then flat and straight on an eight-metre-wide road.

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The 1st stage on the mapPhoto: RCS SportThe 1st stage on the map

Sporting assessment of stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia 2025

Wout van Aert starts stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia 2025 as one of the favouritesPhoto: picture alliance / Roth / CVWout van Aert starts stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia 2025 as one of the favourites

The riders make the race, is the motto on stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia 2025. Anything is possible on the difficult final circuit with the Surrel climb: a leisurely ride to roll in, a breakaway group that gets through, puncheurs who attack or even a team of classification riders who want to tear the peloton apart right at the start. The pure sprinters are likely to have the worst chances. Many of them are likely to go flying at high speed on the surrel, as they say in cycling jargon. The first wearer of the pink jersey will in all likelihood be a professional with certain hill and climbing qualities who can sprint - a rider of the calibre of Wout van Aert.

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