Velogames Preview – Italy 2025

Oh boy, the Giro has managed to launch just after the start of the competitive tennis season and this is my only free evening this week! I may be available for an hour or so on Thursday for a pre-race stream, which I know were popular last year, I’ll have a think and let you know. So I’m going to try and rattle through this without forgetting anything and giving you the best info I possibly can. This race looks to be wide open with many potential winners; a very interesting sprint field; and a route seemingly designed for breakaway specialists to go nuts. So without further ado, let’s get right into it!

The Route

Just under 3,500km and just over 52,000m of climbing define the 2025 parcours. That is nearly 8,000m more climbing than in last year’s edition and 20,000m are packed into the final week. More than half of the stages scream breakaway, and the grande partenza offers exciting chances for opportunists to grab the opening pink jersey and hold it until the race hits the mountains. There are two individual time trials on stages 2 and 10 for a total of 42.3km. Bad, but not terrible news for the climbers, although they do give a select few hopefuls the chance to take an overall lead into those final mountain stages. Here’s a breakdown on all the key stages you won’t want to miss over the next four weeks.

Stage 1: The race kicks off in Albania with a punchy opening stage and offers the chance for a reduced bunch sprint, or a breakaway to claim the first pink jersey of the race.

Stage 2: A 13.7km time trial with a small category 4 climb halfway through might end in a second leader of the general classification (GC) in as many days.
Stage 3: The final stage in Albania is defined by a category 2 climb nearly 40km from the finish. I sense a breakaway win before we head to Italy.
Stage 4: This is a pan-flat stage and should result in the first full sprint of the race.
Stage 7: The first summit finish could be an early chance to lay down a marker, but these stages often end in a win for the break.
Stage 9: This is Strade Bianche mini with the exact same Siena finish as the early season classic, which is fought over the white gravel sterrata of Central Italy and leads to some of the most exhilarating images in the sport. Below is the profile of the finale.

Stage 10: The second and final individual time trial of the race and at 28.6km, it’s one for the pure time trial specialists.
Stage 11: This could be a great stage and you can expect a huge fight for the break over 186km and 3850m of climbing.
Stage 16: The final week starts with 4900m of climbing and might be the first huge GC fight of the race. They’ll be action on several stages before this, but this is a proper chance to put huge time into their rivals.
Stage 19: Potentially the queen stage of this year’s race and the one with the most climbing over five categorised climbs including three category 1 climbs.

Stage 20: The Cima Coppi of this edition comes on the penultimate stage and is the mighty Colle Della Finestre. This was the scene of Froome’s epic raid in 2018, which gave him the race lead and ultimately led to his victory.
Stage 21: A final sprint around Rome begins in the Vatican City with a tribute to the late Pope.

Velogames Category Guide

Now onto the main course of this article and why you’re all mainly here. There’s a lot to unpack with a whole host of riders who may end up scoring well. It may even be the case that instead of a handful of runaway scorers, we finish with a dozen or so riders between the 1,000 and 1,500 point mark. I see this as more of a 2023 Giro rather than what we were treated to last year. Let’s get right into it, and hopefully I don’t miss anyone important!

All Rounders

In my humble opinion, theses are the only five riders to consider in this category. They represent the top two race favourites in Roglič and Ayuso, plus three riders aiming for a solid top 10 or even as high as the podium. In addition to these riders, Dani Martinez is riding in support of Roglič and all of Isaac Del Toro, Brandon McNulty, and Jay Vine will be riding for Ayuso and Adam Yates. Vine is in great form and may have his own chances, whilst McNulty could score in the time trials and any breaks he tries. Realistically though, I think the big points are to be found in the five mentioned above. The final two riders in this category are Pello Bilbao and Wilco Kelderman who are also riding in support of a leader. Bilbao and Vine represent the best bargain choices if you’re desperate for a cheaper second all rounder or an 8 credit wildcard spot, but there’s a serious amount of competition for that accolade.

Climbers

Herein lies one of the biggest conundrums at this year’s Giro. A lot of these riders are targeting this race as their main objective of the year, but are coming in with very patchy form. Whoever you choose in this category will be a leap of faith beyond the three obvious candidates you can pick based on form. Storer, Ciccone, and Fortunato are coming in with the most impressive results from Spring, but a high score in a grand tour Velogames competition would be new territory for all of them. Others on this list have a history of astronomical scores, and if I was going to put my trust in one of them it would be Carapaz. Hindley could potentially still score decently even whilst helping out Roglič, but again, there’s stiff competition. Then there are the two most expensive riders in Adam Yates and Landa. If both come in with the form they showed at last year’s Tour de France, then they have to be good favourites for a top 5. Another simple question would be, are there enough proper climbing stages for these riders to truly shine? With the potential number of stages for the break, it’s possibly an excellent idea to go for those riders who are most likely to be opportunistic. And in Bardet’s last grand tour of his career, you can bet he’ll be trying for multiple breaks whilst trying to hold on to a good GC position. It’s a phenomenally tough decision.

There are plenty of climbers I didn’t include in the above list, but plenty of those could be interesting picks. Max Poole is coming off 979 points at the Vuelta and he’ll be building up to that final week for his chances. Steinhauser was relentless in his pursuit of glory last year when he picked up a stage win and 825 points. Piganzoli and Pellizzari are the Italian youngsters, but the latter is working for Roglič and the former isn’t a likely candidate for a huge score. The best of the 6s here may be Paul Double, who’s made a habit of chasing king of the mountains jerseys recently, and Marco Frigo, who recently picked up a stage win at the Tour of the Alps in an impressive breakaway win.

Sprinters

On the face of it, this seems like a straight choice between Van Aert and Pedersen. There are around six nailed on full sprints with the potential for two more, unless they go to the break or are contested by those sprinters who don’t mind a few hills. The upside for Pedersen is that he’s alone in the sprints for Lidl-Trek, and he’ll be hungry for the points classification. The upside for Van Aert are the two time trials and a desire to compete in the hillier stages and breakaways. His downside comes from his teammate, Olav Kooij, who has the nod for the flat sprints from Visma. This might end up not being too much of a downside. On paper, Kooij is the fastest sprinter and he blooded his beak at last year’s race with a stage win. His downside is hoping he’s fully recovered from his collarbone break just over five weeks ago. If it’s not one of those three, then perhaps Groves gets the nod. He hasn’t had the best of years, but he is a bit of a grand tour merchant. He has no trouble finishing them and always seems to pick up good fantasy points.

If you’re looking for a cheaper option, then there are some enticing options. You might be considered slightly delusional for taking Bennett, but he does have real pedigree. His 1800 points came from the Tour in 2020, and he’s won three stages at the Giro in the past. His last few years have been rough, but isn’t there a chance he recaptures past form? Both Magnier and Fretin are grand tour debutants, and they’ve had great seasons to date. I’m particularly impressed with Fretin and for 6 credits, he’s a good looking bargain if you’re in the market for one. Van Uden is also a grand tour debutant, but his form hasn’t really been there. Two riders who do have the form are Kanter and Moschetti. Neither have ever done superbly at a grand tour, but the former is points farming to help his team keep their world tour license, and the latter has never looked stronger. Not mentioned here are Andrea Vendrame, Gerben Thijssen, Corbin Strong, and Giovanni Lonardi, who all have potential to score some points, I just don’t think it’ll be big points.

Unclassed

I obviously can’t write about everyone, but there are some really good choices on this list. If I’ve missed anyone obvious, please give me a shout. There can be cases made about all sorts of riders, and some no cases can be made about might end up scoring good points. Always a slight lottery, but so satisfying to get right.

So that’s what I’ve got. Hopefully it gives you some good insight and a few ideas. Here is the league code for those who haven’t already joined – 224381821. That overall win is coming, I can feel it, and the stage race championship where I’m in the top 100! I’m going to try and squeeze a stream in on Thursday evening if you’re around.
Here is the link https://www.twitch.tv/andytheciderman. Keep an eye on my socials at X and BlueSky, and I’ll keep you posted. Other than that, happy picking! I’m having a great time.