The Giro d’Italia Women, still in its relative youth with the 2024 edition marking its 35th anniversary, continues to chart new territory. Each year brings the thrill of venturing into “untouched” destinations alongside revisits to sites etched into the history of Italy’s premier women’s cycling race. The 2025 edition strikes a captivating balance between unprecedented arrivals and nostalgic returns to legendary locations.
Bergamo, host city of the 2025 opening time trial, is no stranger to Giro history. In 2012, the so-called “city of the thousands” provided the backdrop for the final stage, where Emma Johansson claimed stage win, and Marianne Vos celebrated overall victory in pink. A decade later, in 2022, Vos again triumphed in the Sarnico-Bergamo fraction. That was the last time the race visited the city. Stage 2 concludes in Aprica, also not new to the Giro. Back in 2015, the famed Valtellina climb witnessed a commanding victory by Pauline Ferrand-Prévot during Anna Van der Breggen’s winning campaign.
Stage 3, on the other hand, offers something entirely new: a finish in Trento. While the city has twice hosted stage starts (in 2000 culminating atop Monte Bondone and in 2001 finishing in Belluno), 2025 will mark its debut as a stage finish.
The grand finale of Stage 4, Pianezze, carries its own historic weight. In 1995, this Valdobbiadene location hosted the finish of a stage won by Fabiana Luperini, the first of her 15 career stage wins in the Giro Women. Until the upcoming 2025 edition of the Corsa Rosa, this remains the only major cycling event to have finished there. Likewise, Monselice (Stage 5) returns after its only appearance dating back to 1997, when France’s Catherine Marsal claimed the stage.
Stages 6 and 7 venture into entirely uncharted territory with finishes in Terre Roveresche and Monte Nerone. These fresh destinations will challenge the peloton with routes as unpredictable as they are scenic. The finale in Imola brings the race back to a more familiar site. In 1998, Imola hosted a stage finish after a ride from Casalecchio di Reno, where Luisiana Pegoraro took the victory in a Giro dominated by Fabiana Luperini, who sealed her fourth overall win.