Giro-E 2021, an unprecedented success

There were nine official teams (made up of six riders each) that participated in all stages of the event, though additional “special teams” lined up too for some of the stages, such as Sara Assicurazioni, ECOC-2025 team (‘Nova Gorica e Gorizia Capitale Europea della Cultura 2025’, whose riders completed the Aquileia-Gorizia stage), and the Angelo Croce team (representing the organizing committee of Casalpusterlengo-Stradella). Others, such as the Toyota Team and the RCS Sport team, split up and merged to compete together in some of the stages.

From 8 to 30 May, 21 stages were completed – the same number as the Giro d’Italia – one of which, the very last, was a team time trial. It was a first for the Giro-E: the TTT took place from Sesto San Giovanni to Milan, covering 10.6 legendary kilometers. It took riders almost 30 minutes to go from Sesto’s city center to Piazza Duomo in Milan. The time trial was surely one of the most intense and tough stages of this year’s edition – it certainly wasn’t less challenging than the previous mountain stages in the Dolomites.

The first ten stages, up to the first rest day, were particularly intense, with 790 kilometers of riding and 11,400 meters of elevation gain. The shortest stage overall was Canazei-Cortina d’Ampezzo: only 7 kilometers, as the route was in fact cut down due to bad weather. While the longest stage was Sulmona-Campo Felice: 97.5 kilometer-long. Among mountain stages, the hardest were Maniago-Monte Zoncolan, stage number 14, with 2,700 meters of elevation gain in a single day, and, surprisingly, Trento-Sega di Ala too (it was an unprecedented arrival for the Giro), where riders tackled the most challenging climb of this year’s edition: the climb to Sega di Ala. Still, there were also five pan-flat stages to contend with.

The Giro-E has also been a chance to showcase ‘Made in Italy’ values and products. E-bikes were a great way of discovering the Italian knowledge of electric motors and its work in the motorcycle and automotive fields for example. The event has also been a chance to shine a light on a beautiful land, passing through some of the most picturesque and lesser-known spots in the ‘Bel Paese’. Many of these are more than worth a mention: Turin, Italy’ first capital city, Milan, the country’s financial centre, Faenza, a beautiful and sunny city in Romagna – an ideal starting point to reach Montepulciano by bike – and then Ostiglia, Maniago, Aquileia, Rieti… and many more – it’s hard to keep count!

• Maglia Arancio (orange) – Enit – Agenzia Nazionale del Turismo // General Classification ENIT – Agenzia Nazionale Turismo
• Maglia Viola (purple) – Enel X // Points Classification ENIT – Agenzia Nazionale Turismo
• Maglia Verde-Ride Green (green) – Trenitalia // Prova Speciale Classification Emika – E-Powers
• Maglia Rossa (red) – ACI // Regularity Classification Valsir
• Maglia Gialla (yellow) – Cuore // Master Classification ENIT – Agenzia Nazionale Turismo
• Maglia Bianca (white) – Intimissimi Uomo // Young Rider Classification Fly Cycling Team – CDI

• ENIT – Agenzia Nazionale del Turismo
• Toyota
• Trenitalia
• Randstad eCycling
• Fly Cycling Team/CDI
• Banca Mediolanum
• Valsir
• RCS Sport
• Emika-Powers