ROUTE

It will start in Tombolo (Padua) and finish on the famous Vicenza climb, for a total of 170 km and a final circuit to be repeated five times.

A course that will leave the race open to all kinds of scenarios and suitable for different types of runners. It will start from Tombolo (Padua) and head towards Cittadella and Fontaniva, then Camisano Vicentino and Grisignano di Zocco, before crossing the Euganean Hills Regional Park with the climb towards Teolo, the first roughness of the day. They will head for the Berici Hills area, with the short climbs of Villaga, Grancona and Brendola beginning to put strain on the athletes’ legs. The highlight, however, comes at the end, with the 15km Monte Berico circuit to be repeated four times and the climb five times.

The tear towards the sanctuary of the Madonna di Monte Berico, marked by the unmistakable porticos at the side of the road, measures exactly one kilometre with an average gradient of 7.1%. While the first 400 metres are quite rideable, the final 600 are rather ‘naughty’, with gradients constantly fluctuating between 8 and 12 per cent. Whoever wants to succeed Matteo Trentin in the roll of honour will have to be shrewd, to guess when to make his move, and powerful, because there is no escaping the slopes of Monte Berico.