The organizers of the Giro d'Italia have annaounced that the 2016 edition of the Italian race will include a tough time tral as stage 9.

It will be a stunning time trial without a single flat section; instead it features continuous climbs and descents in between the fantastic hills in the lands of Chianti.
 
The Individual Time Trial on Sunday 15 May will be stage 9 of the 2016 Giro d’Italia – organised by RCS Sport / La Gazzetta dello Sport and running from 6 to 29 May 2016.
 
The “Chianti Classico Stage”, starting from Radda and finishing in Greve – both in Chianti – was presented today at the Pinarello Store in London, with Fausto Pinarello, chairman of the bike company and Giro sponsor for many years, as host.

The course

It’s going to be one of the key stages of Giro 2016, highly likely to be decisive to select the shortlist of potential winners of the Maglia Rosa just before half-distance in the race. The main characteristic of the course is the absence of flat sections, with a continuous series of ups and downs among the Gallo Nero – the Black Rooster – vineyards. The riders, who will each be on the course for around 50 minutes, will have to face climbs, some of them pretty steep, and descents in which they will have to push on the pedals, in particular during the final part of the stage.

 
The start line will be in Radda, touching some of the key locations of the Chianti Classico Wine Consortium such as Castellina in Chianti (where the course will pass very close to the medieval village centre and there will be an intermediate time), Madonna di Pietracupa, Sicelle, Panzano in Chianti to end in Greve, with the finish line positioned in Piazza Matteotti, an unusual triangular plaza.
 
Consorzio Chianti Classico Chairman, Sergio Zingarelli, says: “It’s a great pleasure being able to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Chianti Classico wine hosting on our territory such an important international event. Cycling is one of the activities that Chianti Classico has chosen, for many years, to embody the close bond in between health, sport and the Black Rooster: a territory to live, with deep roots and an inestimable richness of history, art, culture and gastronomy.”
 
Mauro Vegni, Giro d’Italia Director, says: “This is going to be one of the most spectacular stages of the Giro 2016, both in a technical, riding respect as well as for its unique scenery. A 40km Individual Time Trial without a single metre of flat and almost at the middle of the race, will define for sure who the potential winners are. I would like to underline the landscape that we are going to show to the World through the unique TV images, as unique as the Black Rooster territory that hosts this wonderful stage.”
 
At the end of the presentation Pier Bergonzi, La Gazzetta dello Sport Deputy Editor in Chief, commented: “The Giro d’Italia, La Gazzetta dello Sport and all the excellences that the Corsa Rosa shows the world are universally renowned heritages that Gazzetta has described in detail for more than 100 years. This stage that we presented today represents the classic history that traditionally bonds cycling, our territory and the Italian excellences such as, in this case, the Chianti Classico wine.”