From the 21st to the 25th of April the World Tour - and not only - peloton will tackle the single most important preparation race into the Giro d'Italia: The Tour of the Alps. Every year, it provides a lot of climbing opportunities for the men preparing for the first Grand Tour of the year and now is no exception. We preview the race ahead.
The first stage of the race starts in San Lorenzo Dorsino and the fight for the overall classification will quickly erupt. This first day of the race will take place fully in Italy, going through the climb to Campo Carlo Magno (14.4Km; 6.2%), the Passo del Durdne (6.3Km; 7.8%) and then finally a hilltop finish back at the starting town. The last 9 kilometers are either uphill or flat, and the final one has an average gradient of 8% which can see some interesting gaps be formed - although attacks can come before it.
Stage 1: San Lorenzo Dorsino - San Lorenzo Dorsino, 148.6 kilometers
The second day is it's hardest at the start with three climbs of around 19Km at 6%, and then two of around 7 kilometers at 7%... This will be a brutal start where a lot can and should happen. After a long flat section to the day however, there will be more climbing in which fireworks can be delivered, which will be at the double ascent of Telves di Sopra (4.2Km; 7.1%) which come before the finish in Sterzing.
Stage 2: Mezzolombardo - Sterzing, 178.1 kilometers
The third day of racing has an easier start, but it does eventually pack quite some climbing. This could be termed the 'easiest' day of the race, also with only 145 kilometers in distance, and all the action should be expected in the finale. The ascent to Monte Versiago will be 5.9 kilometers long at 7.1%, but there will be some rolling terrain afterwards which can be fertile ground for tactical racing. The descent to the finish will be very fast and potentially dangerous.
Stage 3: Sterzing - Innichen/San Candido, 145.6 kilometers
The fourth day of racing features 3400 meters of climbing, half of which in the first half - the climb of 7.8Km at 8% mainly - and then a combination of three climbs to wrap up the day. This will be quite tricky, they are shorter and steeper climbs, with steep descents inbetween and a rolling finale, which means that a lot of scenarios can play out. The climbs are 4.6Km at 8.3%; 2.2Km at 10% and 7.6Km at 5.8%. The GC fight could well erupt in the penultimate climb.
Stage 4: Sillian - Obertilliach, 162.7 kilometers
The race finally ends in Austria, Lienz, with climbs that are not too unfamiliar to fans of cycling. There are four ascents on the day, all of which longer than 3 kilometers and steeper than 9%. There is nowhere to hide, they won't be overly long but every single climb is so steep that slipstreaming means little, and the gaps created could be huge.
The action should actually be saved to the last climb. Not because the first three are easier (they are not - they are 4.8Km at 9.2%; 3.8Km at 10%; 4.8Km at 9.2%) but lastly, the ascent to Stronach is over 3 kilometers at 12% and summits with a mere 9 kilometers to go which means that most should wait to attack there.
Stage 5: Lienz - Lienz, 112.6 kilometers
Prediction Tour of the Alps 2025 overall classification:
*** Felix Gall, Derek Gee, Giulio Ciccone
** Romain Bardet, Jai Hindley, Antonio Tiberi, Thymen Arensman
* Paul Seixas, Geoffrey Bouchard, Alessandro Pinarello, Max Poole, Jefferson Alexander Cepeda, Colin Stussi, Eddie Dunbar, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Juan Pedro López, Matthew Riccitello, Davide Piganzoli, Michael Storer
** Romain Bardet, Jai Hindley, Antonio Tiberi, Thymen Arensman
* Paul Seixas, Geoffrey Bouchard, Alessandro Pinarello, Max Poole, Jefferson Alexander Cepeda, Colin Stussi, Eddie Dunbar, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Juan Pedro López, Matthew Riccitello, Davide Piganzoli, Michael Storer
Pick: Felix Gall
Original: Rúben Silva
@JaiHindley is back to the Tour of the Alps ⛰️
— Tour of The Alps (@Tourof_TheAlps) April 18, 2025
From the ocean shore in Perth to the peaks of the @Euregio_Tirol, the winner of Giro 2022 is ready to fight for the #TotA crown 🇦🇺
Will he @RBH_ProCycling to the Melinda Green Jersey?
🖌 Emmanuele Pepè/Vitesse#LiveUphill pic.twitter.com/vaDpHpCIm6
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Ernesto Maggioni - The president of the commissaires Mafia. It is getting evident that this guy is basically "Iamalwaysrightandyouarestupidsoiwontlistentoyou" kind of guy. So fire him so that he can be always right in his homeabstractengineer10-11-2026
- Somehow it has got into his mind that he is a GC rider. He is primarily a classics and stage rider who can perform on GC given his day. As a result he is wasting his time on TDF GC and once committed to GC you are too tired to do anything else.abstractengineer10-11-2026
- 🐐❤️Lozza09-11-2026
- This is such a black eye to women's professional cyclocross if this result remains. Marie Schreiber won this race fairly. This finish is not unlike others in cyclocross. Lots of moving around to get to the finish not to cut anyone off , but to generate a sprint on soft wide tires caked with mud and sand. This is not nearly the same as a road race between two riders sprinting to the finish on faster bikes and thinner firmer tires. The powers in charge need to use some common sense, reverse this result and remember this is Cyclocross not Road racing. Unbelievable. . .Zencycle09-11-2026
- Tis beyond your comprehension fine sir so best not to look on with blind eyes to THE GOATS greatness.
Brucegel09-11-2026 - McNulty winning was beneficial in ensuring the rainbow jersey would not remain winless
Front24209-11-2026 - Eccelente! That's 7 riders in total in Red Bull who come from the devo team, 8 if you include Lipo
Rafionain-Glas09-11-2026 - again, nothing is going to be resolved. it is a discussion board. I simply said I didn't see how MS impeded LBs sprint. the UCI doesn't care about my thoughts, and I am really not that emotionally invested in it.mij09-11-2026
- provoke change, lol. this is a discussion board. nothing is going to change by what I say here. just commenting that it didn't look like MS impeded Brand. beyond that not trying to go too deep.mij09-11-2026
- as excellent as maga rednecks chloe dygert (and quinn simmons)?Ketterechts09-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment