Despite not being a part of a UCI World Tour, run typically mid to late April Giro del Trentino is highly regarded by the prominent grand tour riders of the professional peloton as a very important step in their preparations for season’s major objectives, especially the Giro d’Italia. After Punta Veleno and Sega di Ala being inserted to its route previous seasons, this year organizers decided to follow the trend and discovered another ascent not being tackled by professionals before in the form of San Giacomo, the 11.5km long climb with gradients over 10%.

For the 38th edition of Giro del Trentino organizers decided to consequently follow the trend of enriching its route by new ascents as it happened in past two seasons, when respectively Punta Veleno and Sega di Ala were inserted, what also goes in line with the actions recently taken by grand tour races’ organizers. For this year GS Alto Garda have prepared the San Giacomo ascent situated in Vallagarina, the Mount Baldo Natural Park, never used in races dedicated to professional cyclists, but included in some events for youth riders in the past with Filippo Pozzato and Alessandro Bertolini listed among its winners.

After the 1st race day (Riva del Garda – Arco TTT), the stage will get off in Limone sul Garda, just across the border between Trentino and Lombardy, and finish in San Giacomo di Brentonico after 164,5 km. The final ascent will provide an exciting 14,4 Km battlefield and it will be the Giro del Trentino’s first uphill finish. San Giacomo ascent starts in Mori and reaches Brentonico after 8,5 km, following the same route of 2013 Giro d’Italia uphill time trial Mori-Polsa. From there, the riders will need to cover 6 more kilometres to the finish: two with very slight gradients, and the four most difficult of the entire climb, with gradients over 10%.

Ahead of the pivotal final climb, the peloton will endure a nervous course between Lake Garda, Valsugana and the Levico Lake, characterized by Vigolo Vattaro ascent.

The two remaining stages will be revealed soon, but Giro del Trentino looks set to follow the steps of the previous editions, providing a mix of time trial, undulating routes and top mountain finishes: once again, the ideal preparation for those hunting Giro d’Italia’s Maglia Rosa.