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Human Powered Health Cycling is in Italy for the second Women’s WorldTour Grand Tour stage race of the season, the prestigious Giro d’Italia Women from July 7 through 14.

La Corsa Rosa is one of the longest-running stage races in women’s cycling with one of the richest histories making the fight for the pink leader’s jersey – maglia rosa – one of the most exhilarating of the season.

It will be no different in 2024 where there is certainly no easy day. Starting with a time trial in Brescia, the route winds itself south, taking in a mountaintop finish on stage 3, increasingly hilly days in the center of the country, and a monstrous climbing day to Blockhaus before a hilly finish to L’Aquila.

Human Powered Health brings our climbers and a host of Italians to face this challenge. Climber Barbara Malcotti will be one to watch in the mountains and will be joined by Thüringen Ladies Tour victor Ruth Edwards to fight through the toughest tests. Road captain Romy Kasper races her seventh Giro and is joined by Tour Down Under QOM Katia Ragusa, Silvia Zanardi, newly crowned Swiss U23 champion Linda Zanetti, and new signing Giada Borghesi.

How to watch

USA
Max with via the B/R Sports Add-On and FloBikes | 7/7 – 7/14 7/7 – 7/14 from 6:50 am EDT / 5:50 am CDT / 4:50 am MDT / 3:50 am PDT

UK and Europe
Eurosport/Discovery | 7/7 – 7/14 from 12:50 CET / 11:50 BST

Mountain Malcotti

Having finished 19th in 2023, Barbara Malcotti will be aiming for a top-15 in her home stage race. The Italian has battled back twice from two broken elbows and subsequent surgeries to be fit for the biggest races of the season. Her return is a testament to the 24-year-old’s resilience.

“I went to altitude in Livigno for three weeks after I got a new surgery on my elbow,” Malcotti said of her preparation. “I did the last training section for the Giro last week in Thüringen and I felt better daily but we will see how I’m feeling.”

Malcotti will need all of her climbing skills on such a brutish route.

“I think this year is one of the hardest editions because of the climbs,” she says. “I didn’t recon them but some of my friends did and they told me it’s gonna be a tough race.”

These thoughts are echoed by Team Director, 13-time stage winner – Italian legend Giorgia Bronzini.

“With the level cycling is now, I don’t know how many pure bunch sprints there will be in this race,” she says. “This can give opportunities to breakaways but in the really tough part it will be a really reduced peloton and in some stages even solo riders. The Blockhaus stage is crazy! It’s enough to just do it one time but the GC will be done on that.”

Despite the toughness of the parcours, the Giro is always a big moment for home riders.

“Every year it is special at the Giro, we are a proud country,” she explains. “It is special because people will scream your name, and you pass familiar roads so it’s nice for the Italian vibes.”

Giro d’Italia Women stage-by-stage

7/7 Stage 1 | Brescia – Brescia (15.7km) TT
It all starts with a time trial in Lombardy. A 16km course which is flat but for a 900 meter climb at 4.7% that tops out 4km from the line, this is one for the specialists.

7/8 Stage 2 | Sirmione – Volta Mantovana (105km) Rolling
Stage 2 is one of very few stages that could be for sprinters but with two ascents of the 1.2km climb to Cavriana in the finale, opportunists may take advantage.

7/9 Stage 3 | Sabbioneta – Toano (113km) Mountains
If after 101.5km on a flat route lulls you into a false sense of security then the final 13 km of stage 3 will certainly be a rude awakening as the peloton faces its first mountaintop finish. The climb to Toano will bring the favorites to the fore and shake up the GC.

7/10 Stage 4 | Imola – Urbino (105km) Hilly
Stage 4 passes through San Marino on its way to a hilly finish in Urbino so expect attacks on the hilly parcours. These rolling middle stages may not win you the Giro but you can certainly lose it here.

7/11 Stage 5 | Frontone – Foligno (108km) Rolling
Stage 5 may be the only other chance for the sprinters but with over 1,000 meters of elevation still to fight over, the script may be very similar to that of stage 2.

7/12 Stage 6 | Sirmione – Volta Mantovana (105km) Rolling
Stage 6 is a brutish start to a triple-headed epic mountainous finish to the Giro. 2,634 meters of elevation and a profile like an upturned sword blade, it’s going to be a mammoth day in the saddle.

7/13 Stage 7 | Lanciano – Blockhaus (120km) Mountains
The Queen stage of the Giro is also the Queen-maker. 3,836 meters of elevation in total and a finish up the imperious Blockhaus climb, it’s one of the toughest Giro stages ever.

7/14 Stage 8 | Pescara – L’Aquila (109km) Hilly
There is no reprieve from climbing on the final day with over 2,000 meters of it packed in. With the peloton practically climbing from kilometer zero to kilometer 80 before a long stretch of downhill and a final ramp to L’Aquila, there will also be fireworks to end the Giro.

Follow comprehensive coverage of Human Powered Heath’s fortunes throughout the week via the team’s Instagram, Facebook, and X accounts.