FIRST GRAND TOUR OF THE SEASON STARTS IN ALBANIA: THREE CZECH CYCLISTS AND ROGLIČ AIM FOR PINK GLORY

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May 9, 2025

Giro d'Italia 2025 Durrës, Albania - Rome, Italy

On Friday, May 9, 2025, the first Grand Tour of the cycling season will start in Durrës, Albania. The Giro d'Italia 2025 will offer dramatic mountain stages, thrilling sprints, and tactical battles over a 3,413-kilometer route during three weeks of racing. The race brings several interesting innovations and strong Czech representation in the peloton.

The biggest novelty of this year's edition is the historic first Grand Départ in Albania. The opening stage between Durrës and Tirana will kick off the race with a hilly profile before the riders move to Vlorë and later take a ferry to Italy. "We wanted to show that the Giro is not just about Italy. We want to showcase the beauty of cycling across different countries," explained race director Mauro Vegni.

In addition to Albania, the peloton will also visit Slovenia, and the entire race will culminate with the traditional finish in the streets of Rome, where riders will complete their three-week journey on June 1.

The Czech footprint at the Giro will be significant this year with three riders. Jan Hirt (Israel-PremierTech), who finished eighth in last year's edition, has excellent results on Italian roads, including a stage victory and an overall sixth place in 2022. Hirt will support team leader Derek Gee, but in the mountains, he can attack for stage success and a good position in the overall standings himself.

The 22-year-old talent Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) will experience his first Giro. He showed potential at last year's Vuelta, losing the opening time trial by just two hundredths of a second and finishing second in the seventh stage. He will help Mads Pedersen in Lidl-Trek colors, but will get his own opportunities in time trials and hilly terrain.

Josef Černý (Soudal-Quick-Step), an experienced domestique, will ride his fifth Italian Grand Tour. He won a stage in 2020 and will again be a key helper for the team in flat sections this year. At 31 years of age, he can assist younger colleagues with his experience.

The route of this year's Giro is exceptionally diverse. Riders will face two individual time trials (13.7 km and 28.6 km), six mountain stages including iconic climbs in the Dolomites and Alps, gravel sections in stage 9 inspired by the Strade Bianche race, and the challenging ascent of Colle delle Finestre (2,178 m) in stage 20. The most excitement is promised by stage 20 with the finish in Sestriere, where riders will face the highest point of the race, which witnessed one of the most dramatic turns in Giro history in 2018.

With the absence of last year's winner Tadej Pogačar, who opted for other races, and other stars such as Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard, Primož Roglič, the 2023 winner who showed excellent form in preparation, has become the main favorite. "I like the Giro, it's a race that suits me. But it's never easy," says Roglič. "There are many strong competitors, and three weeks is a long time. A single bad day can be decisive."

His main challengers include Juan Ayuso and Adam Yates from UAE Team Emirates, Simon Yates from Team Visma, Richard Carapaz from EF Education-EasyPost, and Mikel Landa from Soudal-Quick-Step.

Photo: source XYZ 

We thank the Giro d'Italia organizers for providing information about the race.