The Giro d’Italia grande partenza is on Friday, 6th May in Hungary and over the next three weeks we’ll be treated to fantastic racing and spectacular scenery as the race covers over 3,400km and 50,000m of climbing on its way to the finish in Verona on 21st May.
Despite its prestige, the Giro is actually quite difficult to watch and keep abreast of, with no free-to-air coverage in many countries and limited highlights. But sign up to GCN+ and for a one-off annual subscription payment you can watch the entire race from beginning to end ad-free, as well as a full roster of major and lesser-known races throughout the year.
GCN+ coverage includes every Giro d’Italia stage live in its entirety or you can also watch later on demand if you prefer. GCN+’s comprehensive coverage of the Giro also gives you full daily race highlights along with interviews and pre- and post-stage expert analysis by its team of ex-pro commentators, which includes Robbie McEwen, three times winner of the Tour de France points classification.
GCN+ gives you full on demand replays, highlights and anaylsis for every stage of the Giro d'Italia
(Image credit: GCN+)
If you’re pressed for time, you can always watch the exclusive weekly GCN+ World Of Cycling show to keep abreast of the racing, so there’s a Giro coverage option available to suit everyone.
Spectacular route
There’s a spectacular start to this year’s Giro with a road stage that starts in Budapest and ends with a 5km climb to the finish line at the royal palace in Visegrád. That’s followed by a 9.2km individual time trial, again with a sting in its tail, with a climb to the finish line with cobbles and gradients of up to 14%. A further, flat, 201km stage around Lake Balaton completes the Hungarian stages, before the race transfers to Italy.
Racing in Italy starts with a bang - literally - with an ascent of Mount Etna, so expect the first four stages to shape the race. The percorso then makes its way up the spine of Italy, finishing with a final week that takes in the Mortorolo, a trip into Slovenia and the Passo Pordoi in the Dolomites, before the final 17.4km ITT in Verona.
Racing all year round
GCN+’s race coverage doesn’t stop at the Giro. Depending on where you’re located you’ll get the same level of coverage of the other grand tours, as well as all the Classics, women’s racing, shorter stage races and many lesser known events. Once the road season finishes, GCN+ has coverage of all the major cyclocross and track racing over the winter.
Coverage of individual races varies by country, although subscribers in the US, UK, Canada and Australia all have access to the full Giro d’Italia program and a large number of other events. Check what’s available where you live.
There's a wide range of cycling documentaries on GCN+ with new titles added weekly
(Image credit: GCN+)
As well as the racing, GCN+ has a constantly growing collection of cycling documentaries available to watch on demand, with over 100 titles currently available and new releases added every week. That includes profiles of pros like Alberto Contador, exclusive histories of storied bike brands including Colnago and some spectacular challenges like a 7,000m descent of an active volcano in Chile.
Sign up to GCN+ now for a year of great racing
GCN+ costs $8.99 in the US or £6.99 a month in the UK, or you can save over 50% by subscribing for a year for $49.99 or £39.99. It’s available on a whole range of platforms: all web browsers, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Android TV, Chromecast and Apple AirPlay as well as the GCN app, so you can set yourself up and settle in for the big screen experience or take GCN+ with you on your phone.
Sign up to GCN+ now to watch the Giro d’Italia and all the other racing throughout the year, as well as GCN+’s great documentary content.
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Paul started writing for Cycling Weekly in 2015, covering cycling tech, new bikes and product testing. Since then, he’s reviewed hundreds of bikes and thousands of other pieces of cycling equipment for the magazine and the Cycling Weekly website.
He’s been cycling for a lot longer than that though and his travels by bike have taken him all around Europe and to California. He’s been riding gravel since before gravel bikes existed too, riding a cyclocross bike through the Chilterns and along the South Downs.
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