Giro D’Italia women 2025: Everything you need to know.

Following the Vuelta España Femenina in May, the month of July sees the Giro d’Italia Women take centre stage. The second Grand Tour in the women’s calendar is set to be a blockbuster event, with organisers of RCS Sport creating one of the most exciting routes in years, with three summit finishes, two sprint stages and one decisive time trial.  

The Giro d’Italia Women isn’t the only Grand Tour in July, with the men’s Tour de France also on the calendar. 

• 8 stages  
• 939.6km of racing  
• 14,000m of climbing 
• 117.5km average stage length 
• 15 teams 
• 3 summit finishes  
• 1 time trial

The 2025 edition of the Giro d’Italia Women starts on Sunday, July 3, and finishes on Sunday, July 13.  

The 2025 Giro d’Italia Women starts in Bergamo, Italy, with a 13.7km individual time trial. A week later, the race concludes with an undulating stage to Imola. 

The Giro d’Italia Women, as it is now known, can be traced back to 1988, when it was first introduced to the cycling world as the Giro d'Italia Femminile. The race was later rebranded, first as the Giro Rosa and then the Giro Donne, before RCS Sport, the organisers of the men’s Giro d’Italia and Strade Bianche, took over and assumed control of the race.  

During the 2010s, the Giro d’Italia Women became the biggest stage race in the women’s calendar, and the list of previous winners reads like a who's who of women’s cycling. Fabiana Luperini from Italy holds the record for the most GC wins with five titles, while Anna van der Breggen and Canyon’s own Annemiek van Vleuten are tied on four wins apiece. Nicole Cooke and Amber Neben are also former winners. 

There were difficult years for the race, such as when it lost its World Tour status for a short period, but since RCS Sport’s involvement began in 2024, the race has gone from strength to strength. Well organised and with exciting parkours over the last two seasons, the Giro d’Italia Women has never looked more stable in the Women’s World Tour calendar. Alongside the Tour de France Femmes and Vuelta España Femenina, it’s one of three Grand Tours in the calendar.

Organisers RCS Sport have created a comprehensive and challenging race route for the 36th edition of the Giro d’Italia Women. The race consists of 8 stages, each with a 13.7km time kick-starting the race on stage 1. The race hugs the northern portion of Italy before heading directly south for the final four stages and the final stage into Imola. 

Last year, the Giro d’Italia Women started with a 15.7km time trial in Brescia, and the organisers have stuck to that formula again with a 13.7km test in Bergamo. The profile is virtually pan-flat, with very few metres of climbing to trouble the riders as they race as aero as possible. The route is technical, though, with U-turns and sweeping corners dotted throughout the urban-based course. The time gaps won’t be massive, but every second counts against the clock, so the GC riders will be putting in their best performances.  

CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto and Movistar will have several potential contenders for the first maglia rosa of this year’s race as they embark on the TT onboard their Canyon Speedmax CFR TT bikes. Marlen Reusser (Movistar) will certainly be among the favourites. 

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The race wastes no time reaching some of the testing terrain that depicts this year’s event, with stage 2 of the Giro d’Italia Women featuring 1,400m of vertical climbing and covering 99km. The day begins in Clusone and sees the riders descend to Lovere, and from there, the stage rises gradually throughout the day before the final ascent into Aprica. Only the last few kilometres are particularly challenging, and while this isn’t a classified mountain stage, it will still test the peloton. We could certainly see a change in the race lead as the punchier finishers look to topple the GC standings following the stage 1 time trial.  

The pure sprinters will enjoy their first opportunity on stage 3 of the Giro d’Italia Women. However, with the challenging climb of the Passo del Tonale coming early in the stage, the start won’t be ideal. The 124km stage from Vezza D'Oglio to Trento crests the climb within the opening 20km, and from there, it’s a long descent and semi-flat roads all the way to the finish. The route isn’t entirely flat, featuring a few small bumps here and there, but the lead-out trains will be in full force before what should be an inevitable sprint finish.  

Stage 4 from Castello Tesino to Pianezze covers 156km and has the potential to blow the entire race apart with the first summit finish of this year’s race. The route is up and down all day with two small, categorised climbs coming before the final climb to Pianezze. The ascent is 11.2km in length and has an average gradient of 7 per cent. This climb, coupled with the undulating profile from the earlier parts of the stage will sap the riders’ strength and leave only the best GC riders and pure climbers in contention for the finish. Another change of leadership atop the overall standings is certainly likely.  

Although defending Tour de France Femmes champion Kasia Niewiadoma is not set to be on the start list, her CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto team will no doubt be targeting this stage with their remaining climbers racing on the Canyon Aeroad CFR. 

Following the first summit finish of the race the Giro d’Italia Women returns to more favourite terrain for the sprinters on stage 5 with a flat 108km between Mirano and Monselice. The stage ends with a 16.4km finishing circuit and with no major obstacles on the route, this will be the sprinters final chance to shine before the race heads into the decisive batch of mountain stages.  

Stage 6 of the Giro d’Italia Women may not be the hardest but it sets the tone for what’s to come over the final three days of racing. The 144km stage between Bellaria-Igea Marina and Terre Roveresche heads into the Romagna Apennines and heads to San Marino before dipping into Pesaro. A series of five climbs - some uncategorised - make up the profile for the majority of the undulating stages, including the steep ascent of the Villa del Monte. The final climb leads to the first passage of the finish before the riders are required to complete a 15km circuit. The main GC riders should be able to mark each other throughout the stage, and with the final two stages comprising of even tougher ascents, it’s possible that a breakaway could succeed today. Either way, this is the sort of stage you won’t be able to take your eyes off. 

Stage 7 of the Giro d’Italia Women is arguably the hardest of the entire race with the peloton covering 157km between Fermignano and Monte Nerone. With 3,796 meters of vertical climbing, it’s a beast of a stage with four categorised ascents. It’s up and down all day with the climbs of the Moria, Passo la Croce, Valico di Sitria and Valico di Croce Avellana all coming in quick succession. The last 60km of the stage include sweeping descents and further climbs before the final test to Monte Nerone. The last 16km are uphill with the last categorised climbing kicking off with 8km remaining. With an average gradient of 8 percent the peloton will be split to pieces - possible even before the final climb. This is the Queen stage of the Giro d’Italia Women and it will go a long way to deciding the final outcome of the race.  

There’s no such thing as a processional stage at the Giro d’Italia Women with RCS Sport determined to provide action right up until the final pedal strokes of this year’s race. The final stage from Forli to Imola is 138km in length and contains over 2,000m of climbing. This a day of pure attrition, with constant climbs within the stage as the race heads onto parts of the course that were used for the UCI Road World Championships in 2020. The climbs of the Cima Gallisterna and Mazzolano are included four times as the race takes on a demanding circuit. The finish is on the Autodromo Enzo and Dino Ferrari in Imola, where the 2025 Giro d’Italia Women champion will be crowned.  

The full start list for the 2025 Giro d’Italia Women is far from complete at this point in the year but the second Grand Tour of the women’s season will still attract a star-studded field. Defending champion Elisa Longo-Borghini is set to compete in the race once again but she will face challengers from a number of rival squads. 

Movistar come into the race with one of the deepest line-ups as Marlen Reusser, third in the recent Vuelta and Liane Lippert lead the line.  

CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto has not yet announced their roster for the race but Antonia Niedermaier, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig and Ricarda Bauernfeind are all viable options who would leave an impression on the race. Neve Bradbury, who was third last year, is another possible starter for the race.  

Fenix-Deceuninck could also return with last year’s fourth placed rider on GC, Pauliena Rooijakkers, alongside the ever-consistent, Yara Kastelijn. 

Other potential starters at the race include Juliette Labous, Marianne Vos, Évita Muzic, and Marta Cavalli.  

In the UK, you can watch the 2025 Giro d’Italia on TNT Sports and Discovery+.   

Eurosport are likely to show the race in most European territories but remember to check ahead of time so that you don’t miss out.  

In North America, you can watch the race on FloBikes and Peacock. SBS in Australia is also expected to show it this year.  

All of the above broadcasters charge varying subscription fees in their respective territories.  

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