The 2012 Giro d'Italia is scheduled to be the 95th edition of Giro d'Italia

Giro d'Italia

The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...

. It is scheduled to start in the Danish

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 city of Herning

Herning

Herning Municipality is a municipality in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in western Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 1,336 km² and a total population of 84,208...

, and end in Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

. The complete route of the 2012 Giro d'Italia was announced in mid October. For the first time since the 2007 edition

2007 Giro d'Italia

The 2007 Giro d'Italia was the 90th running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place from 12 May to 3 June 2007. The race began in Sardinia and finished in Milan, and featured five mountain top finishes, of which one was an individual time trial...

 no climbing time trial is included in the route.

Pre-race favourites

2011 winner Alberto Contador

Alberto Contador

Alberto Contador Velasco is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . He was the winner of the 2007 Tour de France with the team. With the Astana team he has won the 2008 Giro d'Italia, the 2008 Vuelta a España, the 2009 Tour de France, the 2010 Tour de France and won 2011 Giro...

 will focus on the Tour in the 2012 season and will not defend his Giro d'Italia

Giro d'Italia

The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...

 title. Ivan Basso

Ivan Basso

Ivan Basso is an Italian professional road bicycle racer who is currently racing with UCI ProTeam . Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, is among the best mountain riders in the professional field in the 21st century, and is considered one of the strongest stage race riders...

, winner of the Giro of 2006

2006 Giro d'Italia

The 2006 Giro d'Italia was the 89th running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It was held from 6 May to 28 May 2006, and covered , beginning in the Belgian mining town of Seraing and ending in Milan...

 and 2010

2010 Giro d'Italia

The 2010 Giro d'Italia was the 93rd edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro started off in Amsterdam on 8 May and stayed in the Netherlands for three stages, before leaving the country...

, announced on 13 November 2011 that he will aim for a third pink jersey. In an interview Dutch climber Robert Gesink

Robert Gesink

Robert Gesink is a Dutch professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam Rabobank.-Early years:At the Junior World Championships of 2004 UCI Road World Championships in Verona, Gesink finished eighth in the individual time trial and sixth in the road race, while riding for team De Peddelaars in...

 stated that he wants ride the 2012 Giro as preparation for the Tour de France.

Johan Bruyneel

Johan Bruyneel

Johan Bruyneel is a former road bicycle racer in professional cycling and a directeur sportif for UCI ProTour team . Retiring from racing in 1998, he became director of , a US-based UCI ProTour cycling team...

, manager of the new fusion team between Leopard-Trek and Team Radioshack

Team RadioShack

Team RadioShack is a professional road bicycle racing team, with RadioShack as the title sponsor, the creation of which was announced on July 23, 2009. Lance Armstrong co-owns and leads the team, which plans to race in the Grand Tours and the UCI ProTour, as well as running and triathlon events...

, stated that it will be hard for three time runner-up Andy Schleck

Andy Schleck

Andy Raymond Schleck is a Luxembourgish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . He is the younger brother of Fränk Schleck, who also rides for . Their father Johny Schleck rode the Tour de France and Vuelta a España between 1965 and 1974...

 and his brother Fränk Schleck

Fränk Schleck

Fränk René Schleck is a Luxembourgish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . At the start of 2005, Schleck was joined by his younger brother Andy on , and they split the 2005 national championships between them, with Fränk winning the road race and Andy winning the time trial...

 to win the 2012 Tour de France

2012 Tour de France

The 2012 Tour de France is scheduled to be the 99th Tour de France. It is scheduled to start in the Belgian city of Liège, and end on the Champs-Elysées in Paris. The Tour visits besides Belgium also the country of Switzerland....

 due to the large ammount of kilometers against the clock. There may be the chance that one of the brothers will target the Giro d'Italia instead. On 19 november Fränk announced that the Schleck brothers will not ride the Giro an will focus on the Tour despite of the time trialing kilometers.

Route and stages

The first three stages were announced on 5 October 2011, with the remaining stages announced on 16 October.

Stage	Date	Course	Distance	Type
1	5 May	Herning Herning Herning Municipality is a municipality in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in western Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 1,336 km² and a total population of 84,208...	8.7 km (5.4 mi)		Individual time trial Individual time trial An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...
2	6 May	Herning Herning Herning Municipality is a municipality in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in western Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 1,336 km² and a total population of 84,208...  to Herning Herning Herning Municipality is a municipality in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in western Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 1,336 km² and a total population of 84,208...	206 km (128 mi)		Flat stage
3	7 May	Horsens Horsens Horsens is a Danish city in east Jutland. It is the site of the council of Horsens municipality. The city's population is 53,807 and the Horsens municipality's population is 82,835 ....  to Horsens Horsens Horsens is a Danish city in east Jutland. It is the site of the council of Horsens municipality. The city's population is 53,807 and the Horsens municipality's population is 82,835 ....	190 km (118 mi)		Flat stage
	8 May	Rest day
4	9 May	Verona Verona Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...	32.2 km (20 mi)		Team time trial Team time trial A team time trial is a road-based bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock .Teams start at equal intervals, usually two, three or four minutes apart...
5	10 May	Modena Modena Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....  to Fano Fano Fano is a town and comune of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort 12 km southeast of Pesaro, located where the Via Flaminia reaches the Adriatic Sea...	199 km (124 mi)		Flat stage
6	11 May	Urbino Urbino Urbino is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482...  to Porto Sant'Elpidio Porto Sant'Elpidio Porto Sant'Elpidio is a coastal town in the province of Fermo, Marche, Italy. The commune is home to 25,071 inhabitants.-Geography:Porto Sant'Elpidio’s nearly eight km of coast once made the commune the most extensive in length in the province of Ascoli Piceno, but this is no longer true as it now...	207 km (129 mi)		Medium mountain
7	12 May	Recanati Recanati Recanati is a town and comune in the Province of Macerata, Marche region of Italy. Recanati was founded around 1150 AD from three pre-existing castles. In 1290 it proclaimed itself an independent republic and, in the 15th century, was famous for its international fair...  to Rocca di Cambio Rocca di Cambio Rocca di Cambio is a comune and town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy.It is home to the Abbey of Santa Lucia....	202 km (126 mi)		Medium mountain
8	13 May	Sulmona Sulmona thumb|150px|Celestine V's hermitage and the remains of the Shrine of Hercules Curinus.thumb|150px|Palazzo SS. Annunziata and Museo Civicothumb|150px|Church of SS...  to Lago Laceno	229 km (142 mi)		Medium mountain
9	14 May	San Giorgio del Sannio San Giorgio del Sannio San Giorgio del Sannio is a comune in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about 60 km northeast of Naples and about 9 km southeast of Benevento...  to Frosinone Frosinone Frosinone is a town and comune in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the Province of Frosinone. It is located about 75 km south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples Autostrada A1...	171 km (106 mi)		Flat stage
10	15 May	Civitavecchia Civitavecchia Civitavecchia is a town and comune of the province of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located 80 kilometers west-north-west of Rome, across the Mignone river. The harbor is formed by two piers and a breakwater, on which is a lighthouse...  to Assisi Assisi - Churches :* The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi is a World Heritage Site. The Franciscan monastery, il Sacro Convento, and the lower and upper church of St Francis were begun immediately after his canonization in 1228, and completed in 1253...	187 km (116 mi)		Medium mountain
11	16 May	Assisi Assisi - Churches :* The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi is a World Heritage Site. The Franciscan monastery, il Sacro Convento, and the lower and upper church of St Francis were begun immediately after his canonization in 1228, and completed in 1253...  to Montecatini Terme Montecatini Terme Montecatini Terme is an Italian district of 21,095 inhabitants within the province of Pistoia in Tuscany. The most important center in Valdinievole...	243 km (151 mi)		Flat stage
12	17 May	Seravezza to Sestri Levante Sestri Levante Sestri Levante is a town and comune in Liguria, Italy. Lying on the Mediterranean Sea, it is approximately 56 kilometers south of Genoa and is set on a promontory. While nearby Portofino and the Cinque Terre are probably the most well known tourist destinations on the Italian Riviera, Sestri...	157 km (98 mi)		Medium mountain
13	18 May	Savona Savona Savona is a seaport and comune in the northern Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea....  to Cervere Cervere Cervere is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 50 km south of Turin and about 35 km northeast of Cuneo...	121 km (75 mi)		Flat stage
14	19 May	Cherasco Cherasco Cherasco is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 50 km southeast of Turin and about 40 km northeast of Cuneo...  to Cervinia Cervinia Breuil-Cervinia is an alpine resort in the Valle d'Aosta region of northwest Italy...	205 km (127 mi)		Mountain stage
15	20 May	Busto Arsizio Busto Arsizio Busto Arsizio is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy, in northern Italy, 25 km north of Milan in the province of Varese.The economy of Busto Arsizio is mainly based on industry and commerce.-History:...  to Lecco-Pian dei Resinelli	172 km (107 mi)		Mountain stage
	21 May	Rest day
16	22 May	Limone sul Garda Limone sul Garda Limone sul Garda is a town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy , on the shore of Lake Garda.-History:Despite the presence of famous cultivations of lemons , the town's name is probably derived from the ancient lemos or limes Limone sul Garda is a town and comune in the province of...  to Falzes-Pfalzen	174 km (108 mi)		Medium mountain stage
17	23 May	Falzes-Pfalzen to Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo is a town and comune in the southern Alps located in Veneto, a region in Northern Italy. Located in the heart of the Dolomites in an alpine valley, it is a popular winter sport resort known for its ski-ranges, scenery, accommodations, shops and après-ski scene...	187 km (116 mi)		Mountain stage
18	24 May	San Vito di Cadore San Vito di Cadore San Vito di Cadore is a small town and comune in the province of Belluno, Veneto, northern Italy. It is located 9 km from Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the Dolomites, and is next to Monte Antelao....  to Vedelago Vedelago Vedelago is a comune in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region Veneto, located about 35 km northwest of Venice and about 20 km west of Treviso....	139 km (86 mi)		Flat stage
19	25 May	Treviso Treviso Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...  to Alpe di Pampeago	197 km (122 mi)		Mountain stage
20	26 May	Caldes-Val di Sole to Passo dello Stelvio	218 km (135 mi)		Mountain stage
21	27 May	Milan Milan Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...	31.5 km (19.6 mi)		Individual time trial Individual time trial An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...