A feast for climbers
As its name suggests, 100% of the Tour of the Alps runs in the Alps, specifically between the Austrian and Italian territories that make up historic Tyrol. The organization takes advantage of this spectacular terrain to propose a mountain itinerary that makes this race a mandatory stop for some of the best climbers in the world, especially for those who will participate in the Giro d'Italia in twenty days.
Parcours
The race is composed by a 5-stage route, as in recent years. The first three stages are categorized as medium mountain and the last two as high mountain, but let's not let this fool us: they all present endless climbs that will undoubtedly allow us to see the form of the main candidates for the Giro.
Favorites
The startlist is full of climbers and riders with good legs in the mid-mountain, among which the winner of the last edition of the race, Pavel Sivakov (600), stands out. Sivakov won in 2019, as the race was not contested due to the COVID health crisis in 2020. Other strong candidates for the general classification are Nairo Quintana (1000), Alexandr Vlasov (800), Jay Hindley (600), Pello Bilbao (600), Brandon McNulty (600), Emanuel Buchmann (600), Simon Yates (800) or Hugh John Carthy (600).
It will also be interesting to see how the two best French climbers of the last decade, Romain Bardet (600) and Thibaut Pinot (800), arrive. With parallel live paths, it seems that this year they have both managed to free themselves from the pressure of going to the Tour de France and will be at the Giro, and this Tour of the Alps will undoubtedly help them test their forces.
Other very good riders without so many options to the GC but who will undoubtedly be in the fight for some stage are Felix Grossschartner (800), Luis León Sánchez (400), Daniel Martin (800), Gianluca Brambilla (400) or Giulio Ciccone (600).
This itinerary means that there are no sprinters on the starting list, as there are no opportunities for them.