Stage 20 of the Giro d'Italia goes up the newly paved and incredibly steep Monte Lussari. A narrow one-lane and one-way road, it causes a host of logistical issues to the race organizers, but ultimately it will take place and it will have a set of it's own rules.
Whilst the first 11 kilometers of the time-trial will be mostly flat, the final 7.2-kilometer climb will be as far from as it could be. Besides featuring gradients of over 20%, it averages 15% for over 4 kilometers, is very narrow and ends at the top of the mountain. Because of this, cars will not be allowed up, and riders will instead a team staff member following them on a motorbike, holding the bikes that may be needed to replace.
Additionally, riders will be obligated to make a switch from time-trial to road bike at the base of the climb. There is a carefully created transition zone in which riders will be dismounting, and taking on a road bike - which most likely will be equipped with special gears so as to allow the riders to handle the insane gradients they will then face.
The transition zone will be 25 meters long and every rider will have to make the switch. There will be a limit on the amount of fans allowed up the mountain due to the narrow roads, and after completing the time-trial the riders will take a cable car back down the mountain. Another detail from the organization is that riders will depart in heats, with breaks of 50 minutes throughout the day so as to allow motorbikes and organization members to ride back down the mountain before other riders begin to climb up it.
⛰ The Giro d’Italia is history and tradition, but it is also innovation and discovery. Over the decades, the Corsa Rosa has brought new lands, new climbs or, quite simply, new roads into the limelight 👉 giroditalia.it/en/monte-lussa… . ⛰ Il Giro d’Italia è storia e tradizione, ma è…
