The Giro d’Italia is launching a new project aimed at mapping the great climbs of cycling, building an archive of ascents that have shaped — and will continue to shape — the history of this sport, while offering fans a time benchmark to measure themselves against. Time-check points will be set at both the start and the summit of 11 selected climbs over the three weeks. These timing points may coincide with the KOM banner or the stage finish.
Today, it is a Giro d’Italia classic finish and, at 13.6 km with an average gradient of 8.4%, it is a true, demanding, and highly selective climb. Its Giro debut in 1967 coincided with that of a certain Eddy Merckx, who claimed his first stage win in the race on these slopes. It returned in 1968, when Franco Bodrero won, although the record books remember Franco Bitossi after Bodrero — who tragically died at just 27 — was later implicated in the amphetamine doping scandal that shook that edition.
In Stage 7 of the 2026 Giro, Blockhaus will be the first officially timed climb (as well as the first summit finish). It also hosted a brutal 48 km individual time trial in 1972, won by “El Tarangu,” José Manuel Fuente. In 1984, Moreno Argentin took victory, while Francesco Moser dropped Laurent Fignon — who was suffering from hunger knock — by 58 seconds and took the Maglia Rosa, which he would eventually win by 1’03”.
In 2009, Franco Pellizotti crossed the line first — though results were later revised — while Stefano Garzelli finished second and was loudly booed by Abruzzese fans for taking valuable bonus seconds from local hero Danilo Di Luca, who placed third and was battling Denis Menchov for the overall lead. More recently, Blockhaus featured in 2017, when Nairo Quintana won and took the Maglia Rosa, and in 2022, when eventual winner Jai Hindley launched his decisive move.
In 2024, the Giro d’Italia Women also discovered Blockhaus, highlighting the climbing prowess of Australia’s Neve Bradbury.
Italian cycling fans are used to turning their attention to Capodarco on 16 August, when the GP Capodarco takes place, an international U23 classic renowned for the incredible passion of its crowds. Founded in 1964, it has seen riders such as Davide Bramati, Wladimir Belli, Mattia Cattaneo and, more recently, Jai Hindley, Filippo Zana, Einer Rubio and promising Slovenian Jakob Omrzel come to the fore. The date is no coincidence: it marks the birthday of Fabio Casartelli, who won here in 1991 and tragically died in 1995 after a crash at the Tour de France. The race commemorates him with a start from the monument dedicated to him.
The climb itself is just under 2,5 km long with an average gradient of 6.3%. In Stage 8 of the 2026 Giro d’Italia, it will be tackled with only 7 km to go before the finish in Fermo (of which Capodarco is one of the ten districts), perched atop another short climb. The finale closely resembles that of Tirreno Adriatico 2017, when Peter Sagan won ahead of Thibaut Pinot and Primož Roglič.
There is only one road to the summit of this mountain in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, not far from Bologna. The Giro d’Italia is already familiar with it, having finished here in Stage 3 of the 2004 edition, when Gilberto Simoni attacked solo to take both the stage and the Maglia Rosa, in what seemed destined to be his Giro — until his Saeco teammate Damiano Cunego ultimately claimed overall victory at just 22 years of age.
The race will return here in 2026, in Stage 9, for a summit finish following a relatively straightforward stage from the coast, starting in Cervia. The summit sits at 1,471 meters above sea level, at the end of a climb that begins in Silla and eases after Querciola, where a third-category KOM is located. From there, the final ascent begins: 10.8 km to Corno alle Scale and Rifugio Cavone, with an average gradient of around 6%.
Blockhaus, Fermo and Corno alle Scale: three stages back-to-back that will make for an explosive finale to the first week of the Giro.
