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The new Giro will be presentend in 2 weeks, but today was the first prewiew about the 20th stage.
Start will be in Herning, in Danimarca, 5 may.
Should be for sure the hardest stage in 2012, with 5900 mt. altitude in 218 km. and with 4 mountain before the HC arrive, that is the highest arrive all time for the Giro.
Passo del Tonale
Aprica
Teglio da Bianzone
Mortirolo(should be a new way)(11.4 km at 10.4% media, max. 21%)
Stelvio(arrive at 2757)(22.4 km at 6.9% media, max 12%).
at Stelvio maybe we have the chance to see also snow.

sounds really exciting.

Well, althought I think it got a very nice tour, I'm kind of dissapointed from that final stage. It's like they run out of courage halfway through it. Going down Mortirolo the same side and so keeping the long way to Bormio, which does climb considerably, but not anything near steep, man, that kills anyone trying to get away at Mortirolo. There's just one good way connecting Mortirolo and Stelvio from Tirano, and that is going over and adding Gavia. That would have been an epic stage, like that, it's just... someway usual.

Nethertheless, a good tour, but the highlights are different from that well promoted last day. Dolomiti Superstars !!! Stage 17 is brilliant, just as stage 19, those are the real highlights of this years Giro. A Mountain stage at the first weekend would have been good, but with some good looking medium stages, it should be ok. Great things they remembered that year: A real prologue, very good, and no shitty 1km-mountain finishs, which have hurt the Giro so often.

So though that dissapointing 20th stage, I think it is very good tour, and looking at that, there's now way to imagine any tour of 2012 can beat that design. After the quite bad route of last year, compared to Giro's standard level, this is a real step foward and I am sure it will be far the best Tour of the year, as it should be, and has been so often.

Yep,the Gavia... one thing could be that they didn't want to overdo it. Already 4 of the 5 real mountain stages are multi climbs with basically no flat meters between climbs, add the fifth one, mmh... Plus even without the Gavia we're at 5900 climbing, add the Gavia and...

Second reason, could be weather, Stelvio, Gavia in May still can get snow, just one, can be dealt with, 2... hard. And after the repeated cancellations, changes in the Zomegnan years, that's probably something they wanted to avoid. No more PR disasters like Kronplatz, cancelled, Blockhaus, shortened, Cuneo Pinerolo, cancelled, Crostis, cancelled, Milano TT, shortened. Clear break from Zomegnan and cicloalpinismo, show and transfers, so not only no big novelty, but also don't take the risk to have to cancel something again. Risk of course is there with the Stelvio too, but again, if there is too much snow in winter, if it snows a few days before, only the Stelvio is easier to handle than both.

The big weakness is rather the first weekend. Laceno ok, Rocca di Cambio a catastrophe, result will be that before stage 14 everything will be very close together, that a potentially great stage like 12 will be half killed. Half the peloton can get rosa, can't get into the escape, won't be let go, all the 40 guys that think they can reach the top 10 are still in the race, nobody will feel the need to try anything . If they had just put in a tougher climb than Rocca di Cambio (will be easier than Mercogliano even) to have a second GC relevant stage after the TTT, this Giro would almost have been perfect. Like this, 14-21 are fantastic, before a bit too soft, to backloaded.

thing is, if it would be flat within Mortirolo and Stelvio, it were ok, but the terrain between isn't. it's an endless way of climb in rage of 1%, 2%, 3% like that... 20 km. That's the most difficult terrain to go for a lonely rider or a small group, helpers are that important on a terrain like that. And especially with a climb like the Stelvio in the end, it just costs so much power. This will take out any potential try at Mortirolo, and this is why i dislike it, it killes the race. All those mountains before will not have much of an impact, as with this terrain in front, it all focuses on Stelvio. That's what I dislike about it, all those hight meters and passes are quite like wasted as there couldn't be expected any real action. Finishing that stage in Bormio without the Stelvio in total would have made me expecting a much more interesting stage than with it. (while perfect would have been to go over the Gavia to Bormio, without Stelvio, too)

About the medium stages, yes, didn't think about that, but you are probably right, to much a GC interference that can heavily disturb the race. On hard mountain finish at the first weekend would have been good.

Cavendish ...he’s determined to win the overall points classification at the Giro d’Italia, which would put him in select and exalted company as a winner of the points classifications at all three grand tours...

source: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/cavendi ... 2012-plans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeYY9s6X7yY
les wampas - rimini