Giro d’Italia 2023 - Stage 1 (ITT: Fossacesia Marina - Ortona) - Route, profile, animation

“Saturday, 6 May The Giro d’Italia 2023 will open with an individual time trial of just under 20 kilometres. The route leads from Fossacesia to Ortona and is completely flat except for the last 2.8 kilometres. The riders reach the final section via a climb with 5.3%, which is a bit downhill, but mainly uphill. The route leads almost completely over a so-called Via Verde. This is a railway line that has been converted into a cycle path. It is part of the Ciclovia Adriatica, a cycle path that starts in Trieste and leads along the Adriatic coast to the deep south. It is over 1,300 kilometres long in total. So cyclists only ride a fraction of it, but it is a beautiful route. The section through Abruzzo is called Via Verde della Costa dei Trabocchi. Trabocchi are wooden fishing structures that lie off the coast in this part of Italy. So much for the tourist information. Now for the route: it is quite easy. Riders cycle in a straight line along the sea from Fossacesia Marina to Ortona. There you leave the cycle path to climb 1.2 kilometres at 5.3% and over two hairpin bends into the town. At the top, it’s another 1.7 kilometres to the finish. The first 700 metres are (slightly) downhill and then the road climbs a little to the finish. There are two split times along the route - after 9.8 and after 16.8 kilometres. Last year at the Giro there was a similar time trial on the second day, but only about half as long. Simon Yates was surprisingly the fastest, ahead of Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Dumoulin. “ ( & Routes ’n’ Maps ’n’ Flags) Route data: Creating cycling stage animations requires a lot of work and computing power. You are welcome to support me with a donation: