Giro d'Italia 2024 route presentation – The fanfare and reactions

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The route for the 2024 Giro d’Italia was unveiled on Friday evening at the Teatro Sociale as part of the Trento Sports Festival, with two-time winner Vincenzo Nibali serving as the show host and 2023 winner Primož Roglič among the major pro riders in attendance as the 3,321km course was revealed. 

The big names joining Roglič in Trento to learn details of the 107th edition of the Corsa Rosa were his future Bora-Hansgrohe teammate and 2022 Giro champion Jai Hindley, Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), who has six career stage wins at the Giro and Peter Sagan, winner of two stages at the Giro d'Italia and Maglia Ciclamino in 2021.

Race organisers RCS Sport, who recently took over management of the women’s stage race, also officially launched the rebranded eight-day event as the Giro d’Italia Women and announced that it will take place from July 7-14, 2024.

Before the men took the spotlight, Italian WorldTour riders Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) and Letizia Paternoster (Jayco AlUla) joined RCS Sport CEO Paolo Bellino on the stage. They watched as a video celebrating women cyclists was played in the theatre, and the new trophy for the Giro d’Italia Women was unveiled, an infinity loop design for the Endless Trophy. Bellino confirmed a separate ceremony will be held in the next month to unveil the women’s course.

Longo Borghini and Paternoster both delivered their reactions to the new trophy and the buildup for next year’s women’s Giro. Paternoster, a track world champion in 2021, said "2024 will be an important year, also for those who, like me, are racing on both road and track. The Giro d'Italia Women will be important in view of Paris 2024 and we are sure that RCS Sport will organise a great event". 

Longo Borghini – the reigning Italian road champion who has twice been on the final overall podium at the Giro Donne – said she was moved by the design and wanted to hold the trophy as the champion.

“This is an important day for women's cycling. It's a great first time, a further step forward for our movement. My ambition is to win this trophy. I guess it will be a dream for all of us".

The unique Trofeo Senza Fine was next brought onto the stage, showcasing the names of the winners of the Giro across the last 106 race editions. The editor of Gazzetto dello Sport was joined on stage by Italian racing star Nibali, who helped unveil the 21 stages, segmenting the presentation for each week of the race. In 2024 the event will wind counter-clockwise from the Italian Alps, south through Pompei, back north along the Adriatic coast and then through the Dolomites before the route ends in Rome with a circuit stage around the Colosseum on Sunday, May 26.

Peter Sagan, a three-time World Champion who retired from the road earlier this month, made a brief appearance on the stage in a suit and athletic shoes with bright pink accents to discuss the first individual time trial, with an uphill finish in Perugia after 37.2km. He also explained his transition back to mountain biking to compete at the Paris Olympic Games.

Filippo Ganna and Jai Hindley joined Nibali in the spotlight to go through the six stages in the second week of racing. Ganna, who has taken 22 of his 28 victories in the race against the clock, described the 2024 Giro as “tough and testing”.

"It will be a very demanding Giro, clearly my focus will be on the two time trials. Of the two, the one in Desenzano is the most suitable for me. Winning stages at the Giro is always special, I want to do it again,” Ganna said.

Stage 15 caught the eye of Hindley, who said: “I think it will be super hard the second week, and also with this last stage. It’s a monster day on the bike and finishing at altitude will be super tough, so expect to see fireworks.”

The final week returns with a traditional crescendo in the Dolomites and a second overall finish in the heart of Rome. That week will be “feared” is how Nibali summed up the presentation, with three days in succession from stage 18 to 20 being the most important. 

“So many climbs in the second and third week, I am convinced that the race will be open until the end, like last year, and that Monte Grappa could be the decisive mountain.” Nibali said.

Reigning champion Roglič took the stage to relive his GC victory with a video on the big screen. 

“Now seeing it back, one of the most emotional days in my cycling career, and what can I say, incredible,” he said, after watching the replay of the moment he dropped a chain on the stage 20 of last year’s race enroute to the GC title. "Winning on Monte Lussari was one of the most emotional days in my career. I rewatched that stage many times. It was crazy to celebrate with my fans.

"The stage I like the most of the 2024 Giro is stage 20, with the double climb to Monte Grappa. I think it will be the decisive day".