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The traditional ascent to the Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca (2.1 km at 9.4%), in Bologna, is the great hallmark of the Giro dell'Emilia, one of the most prestigious and historic races on the Italian calendar. Contested for the first time in 1909, the race has been largely dominated by local cyclists, with 83 victories for Italian cyclists out of 104 editions. Among them, some of the greatest Italian champions of all time stand out, such as Luigi Ganna (1910), Costante Girardengo (1918, 1919, 1921, 1922, 1925), Fausto Coppi (1941, 1947 1948), Gino Bartali (1952, 1953), Gianni Motta (1968, 1969, 1971), Francesco Moser (1974, 1979), Gianni Bugno (1992) or Ivan Basso (2004). As a curiosity, it should be noted that the first victory for a foreigner was in 1972 and was achieved by a certain Eddy Merckx.

On the other hand, the Giro dell'Emilia is one of the few Italian classics that also organizes a women's race. Since 2014, the Giro dell'Emilia Internazionale Donne Elite also allows us to enjoy the best female riders in the world on the ramps of San Luca, while we wait for women's versions of races such as Gran Piemonte, Tre Valli Varesine and above all, Il Lombardia. It is time.

Route and favorites Giro dell’Emilia

The men's race totals 198 kilometers and 2994 meters of climbing. Although the start has changed location and will be from the town of Carpi, the two main passage climbs remain: Ca'Bortolani (5.5 km at 6.3%) and Medelana (7.8 km at 6.7% ). After the two ascents, cyclists will head to Bologna, where they will enter the final circuit, which they will have to do 5 laps. The circuit measures 9 km in length and ends at the top of the climb to the sanctuary of San Luca (2.1 km at 9.4%).

The climb to San Luca conditions the race enormously and makes it a perfect event for specialists in steep but short climbs. Tadej Pogačar (1200), João Almeida (1200), Mathieu Van Der Poel (1000), Julian Alaphilippe (1000), David Gaudu (1000), Alejandro Valverde (800), Guillaume Martin (800), Michael Woods (800), Juan Ayuso (600), Simon Yates (800) or Adam Yates (1000) are some of the main favorites.

Route and favorites Giro dell'Emilia Internazionale Donne Elite

The route of the women's race is noticeably shorter and easier than that of the men's race. Although the race shares the start from Carpi, the intermediate climbs and the laps on the circuit are suppressed and the route consists simply of 89 flat km with the only difficulty being the final climb to San Luca (2.1 km at 9.4%).

Last year's winner Mavi García (800) heads a list of favorites which also includes Elisa Longo Borghini (1200), Cecile Uttrup Ludwig (1000), Marta Cavalli (1000) and Sofia Bertizzolo (800), although there are still many teams to confirm their lineups.