2024 Giro d’Italia: Stage 1 Preview

The 2024 Giro d’Italia kicks off in less than a day, with the ‘girini’ rolling out from the extraordinary complex of the Reggia di Venaria Reale to start three weeks of battle for the maglia rosa.

Stage Details

After a flat stretch of approx. 45 km, the stage has a very hilly profile. Before entering the final circuit (approx. 30 km), the route takes in two categorised climbs of increasing difficulty: Berzano di San Pietro and Superga, coming from Baldissero Torinese, where the gradients are less sharp than coming from Turin, along the ‘traditional’ side. Before the first pass over the line, there is a kick up to San Vito, which will be repeated at the 3 km mark. After the pass over the line comes the Colle Maddalena ascent (7 km at 7%), followed by a technical descent leading to Moncalieri and, eventually, to San Vito.

Final kilometres

The last 5 km comprise a short but steep ascent to San Vito (1.4 km, averaging 9.8% and peaking out at 16%), which ends at the 3 km mark, followed by a fast descent until 600 m to the finish. The last 500 m are perfectly flat and straight, on 8 m wide tarmac.

A World Heritage Site since 1997, the Reggia di Venaria was constructed in the mid-17th century as the hunting lodge of Charles Emmanuel II. The design, entrusted to Amedeo di Castellamonte, features the central Salone di Diana as an ideal link between the palace and the 60-hectare park, which has been named Italy’s most beautiful public park.

From the Tour Guide

The peloton sets off , initially riding through the countryside north of Turin, dotted with towns and villages home to companies of the Machine Tool and Robot District. These businesses have bounced back strongly after the slowdown caused by COVID and the difficulties in sourcing raw materials.

Berzano San Pietro hosts the first ‘King of the Mountain’ in the Giro d’Italia and simultaneously serves as the launch pad for Castelnuovo Don Bosco, ‘Land of Wines and Saints’. This name comes from the rows of vines that produce high-quality Freisa and Malvasia wines and the Basilica commemorating Don Giovanni Bosco, the saintly educator who founded the Salesian congregation, among other accomplishments. From one basilica to another. With Turin in sight, the group ascends Superga hill, overlooked by the Baroque church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. A stop up here is a must, and not just to catch your breath. The view alone demands it, but it’s also a place of remembrance for the air disaster that claimed the lives of the Grande Torino footballers on 4 May 1949.

The final loop of the stage takes you through Moncalieri twice, offering opportunities to stop and admire its magnificent Sabaudian Castle. And finally, Turin, increasingly recognised as the capital of cycling, is all kitted out for the occasion. The Mole Antonelliana, the Egyptian Museum, Piazza San Carlo and Valentino Park are traditional visitor attractions.

Enthusiasts must visit the art installation, near the Fausto Coppi Motovelodromo, which pays homage to the Turin stage of the Giro d’Italia. Created by the Truly Design collective, it is a visual journey through the city landmarks that the first stage of the race will traverse. Also, until 5 May, you can visit ‘Torino e il Giro. Tra ricostruzione e boom economico’ (‘Turin and the Giro. Reconstruction and economic boom’) This photographic exhibition, documenting the city in the 1950s and 1960s, is housed under the porticos of Via Po on the left side, from Piazza Castello to Via Rossini. The exhibition combines period images with photographs showing the Giro d’Italia’s departures and arrivals in Turin from 1947 to 1961. The exhibition is organised by the Historical Archive and the Great Events and Tourism Promotion Division of the City of Turin in collaboration with RCS Sport.

Stage Profile