Giro d'Italia 2017 route leaked ahead of presentation

The Giro d'Italia, according to a leak, will travel from the toe to the Alps in the north next May. It will climb the Stelvio twice and feature more time trial kilometres than its French counterpart, the Tour de France.

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Giro organiser RCS Sport, which just ran the Abu Dhabi Tour, will present the 100th edition on Tuesday in Milan. Reigning champion Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) will be among the stars present.

The race will start in Sardinia with three stages that the organiser already unveiled in September. From there, local newspapers have reported most of the other stages and a leak today revealed the 21 stage profiles. RCS Sport has not confirmed the information.

With the race being the 100th edition, the Giro will finish in Milan. The country's business capital hosted the start and finish of the first edition in 1909 and is home to RCS Sport.

A 28-kilometre time trial is expected to end the race. That combined with a 39.2-kilometre time trial through Umbria's Sagrantino wine region would put the Giro ahead of the Tour in terms of time trial kilometres for 2017. The Tour offers 36 kilometres in stages one and 20 next year.

The Giro d'Italia island hops to Sicily before heading to the mainland. After the first travel/rest day, it features its first summit finish up the iconic Mount Etna. The next day, the race finishes ends in Nibali's home town of Messina.

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Cycling Director Mauro Vegni wanted to visit every one of the 21 regions, but logically it is impossible. Around four will be left out. Also, the race will not visit all nine of the original host cities of the first edition, Rome being the obvious miss.

The first week will climax with a 14-kilometre climb to Blockhaus, at 1674 metres. After a rest day, it will restart with a time trial through the Sagrantino zone. It follows time trials in Italy's other famous wine regions over the last three years: Barolo, Prosecco and the Chianti stage that Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo) won this May.

The Giro starts in Ponte a Ema and Castellania, birthplaces of Italian cycling greats Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi, respectively. The Castellania stage ends with the third summit finish to the Oropa Sanctuary.

In total, five (six if you count stage 20) summit finishes dot the 2017 Giro.

Two big ‘tappone’ mark the 2017 'Corsa Rosa' if the leaks are to be believed. After the third rest day in Bergamo, the race heads north to Bormio via the Mortirolo pass and the Stelvio, from both sides.

Instead of finishing at 2,758 metres, RCS Sport spices up the race with a long descent to Bormio ski village that should suit Nibali or Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale).

The Dolomites to the east host the other big stage or 'tappone' on the final Thursday. According to the leak, the stage will climb five passes – the Pordoi, Valparola, Gardena, Pinei, and the final kick to Ortisei.

It appears the organiser then takes it relatively easy on the riders heading towards Milan, with a smaller summit finish to Piancavallo and a rolling Prosecco stage via Monte Grappa to Asiago.

The Giro finished at Milan's Arena Civica stadium in 1909, when Luigi Ganna won the overall. This time, the time trial will take the riders to the front of the famous Duomo and decide the 100th edition.