Giro d'Italia 2022

Kicking off in stunning Budapest and finishing in fair Verona, the first Grand Tour of the year is set to be a beautiful race

All stages live on Eurosport and GCN+

1. BUDAPEST - VISEGRAD | FLAT

FRIDAY 6 MAY

195 KM

Hungary will at last host the Grande Partenza, two years after the Covid pandemic scuppered plans to do so in 2020. The first-ever Grand Tour stage held on Hungarian roads will be a mostly flat affair, but an uphill finish to the beautiful medieval castle in Visegrad, overlooking panoramic views of the Danube Bend, rules out the pure sprinters. Instead, the first pink jersey of the race will go to whichever fast-finishing puncheur can hang on for the five kilometres of climbing (at an average gradient of five per cent), or a climber with a rapid enough finishing kick.

2. BUDAPEST - BUDAPEST | INDIVIDUAL TIME TRIAL

SATURDAY 7 MAY

9.2 KM

Even compared with the many glorious locations featured in mainland Italy, it’s arguable that Budapest is the prettiest town visited in this year’s Giro. This time trial will show off the city in all its splendour, beginning at the historically significant Heroes’ Square, passing the grandiose neo-gothic parliament building on the bank of the Danube River, then crossing the river to a short, cobbled uphill stretch to the finish at Buda Square. It’s too short for any significant gaps between the GC contenders, but there will be a fierce battle between time trial specialists for custody of the maglia rosa.

3. KAPOSVAR - BALATONFURED | FLAT

SUNDAY 8 MAY

201 KM