10 Key Giro d’Italia Stages That Shape The General Classification

The Giro d’Italia is a three‑week test of pacing, surface savvy, and recovery timing. Below, we translate the 2025 route into 10 pivotal stages most likely to decide the maglia rosa. General classification (GC) is the race’s overall time contest: riders add their daily finish times, and the lowest cumulative time leads the GC, wears the pink jersey, and wins the Giro. Time trials, summit finishes, and stacked Alpine days are where the biggest gaps open—and where the race is most often won or lost.

The Queen Stages of the Giro d’Italia, Explained for Fans

The queen stage is the day fans circle in pink: the Giro’s most punishing, decisive mountain showdown where the general classification (GC) can flip in minutes. If you’re asking “What are the key stages of the Giro d’Italia?”—start here. Modern routes often save this marquee test for the final week, stacking high-category climbs, altitude, and steep ramps into a single, high-drama afternoon. In 2026, for example, Stage 19 strings together the Passo Duran, Passo Giau, and Passo Falzarego for roughly 5,000 m of climbing, a profile built to crack contenders and crown a leader, according to Cyclist’s 2026 route analysis.

UTMB isn’t just long—it’s relentlessly mountainous, unpredictable, and logistically complex. Here are 12 reasons the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc is considered one of the toughest trail ultramarathons in the world.

1. Massive distance and vertical gain UTMB covers roughly 171 km (106 mi) with about 10,000 m (32,800 ft) of climbing around the Mont Blanc massif—an ultra-long route with continual ascents and descents that sap the legs and lungs (official race page: https://montblanc.utmb.world/races/utmb).