Giro D'Italia 2015: Updated Dates, Race Schedule, Stage Routes and TV Info

After nine consecutive days of absorbing cycling, the Giro d’Italia competitors were treated to their first rest day of this year’s Grand Tour on Monday.

It gives us an excellent chance to look at what may be waiting ahead in various battles throughout this competition, especially when it comes to the intriguing tussle for the maglia rosa between Richie Porte, Fabio Aru and the big favourite Alberto Contador.

Here’s all the crucial information you need on the stages to come and details of where to catch the action on the box.

Stage	Date	Route	Distance (km)
10	May 19	Civitanova Marche - Forli	200
11	May 20	Forli - Imola	153
12	May 21	Imola - Vicenza	190
13	May 22	Montecchio Maggiore - Jesolo	147
14	May 23	Treviso - Valdobbiadene	59.4
15	May 24	Marostica - Madonna Di Campiglio	165
16	May 26	Pinzolo - Aprica	174
17	May 27	Aprica - Lugano	174
18	May 28	Melide - Verbania	170
19	May 29	Gravellona Toce - Cervinia	236
20	May 30	Saint-Vincent - Sestriere	199
21	May 31	Turin - Milan	178

All the action and highlights will be shown on Eurosport.

Riders Positioning Themselves for Big Finish

Claudio Peri/Associated Press

With another 11 stages still to come before the riders make their way around the Milan streets for the grand finale, there’s plenty of time for various competitors to position themselves strongly for a big finish to the tour.

The scrap for the coveted pink jersey is making for intriguing viewing so far too. Contador is currently the man most likely to finish top of the pile at the end of the tour and as we can see here courtesy of British Eurosport, snatching that garment off him in the past has proven to be an impossible task:

"

Alberto Contador takes the maglia rosa. He has NEVER lost the leader's jersey at a grand tour #giro #homeofcycling pic.twitter.com/2fxqISQxYt

— British Eurosport (@EurosportUKTV) May 13, 2015"

There are some mitigating circumstances here, though. The Spaniard was involved in a major crash during Stage 6 of the Giro and, as noted by BBC Sport, he suffered a dislocated shoulder.

As such, it was no surprise to hear the former Tour de France winner admit he feels there are some tough rides ahead for him on the back of a gruelling Stage 7, per Sky Sports:

"

It was a stage of more than seven hours and after around four hours, I had a moment where I didn’t know where to place my hand on the handlebar.

Now I hope that with more days on the bike I will be a little bit better, but for sure I have some very difficult days ahead of me. I hope that I can make it through them as best as possible.

"

Daniel Dal Zennaro/Associated Press

Indeed, with a 200-kilometre stage to negotiate on Tuesday between Civitanova Marche and Forli, Contador’s notorious robustness is going to be tested to the maximum. And should he drop even slightly below his impeccable standards, there are some quality riders ready to pounce and seize the maglia rosa from him.

One is Contador’s compatriot Aru, who has been in the mix throughout the opening stages of this Giro. The Astana rider has been very aggressive so far, but has had his attacks well smothered by the wily 2008 champion.

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Indeed, as we can see here, Contador has boasted an edge in those moments that have mattered, seizing a two-second time bonus during a hot-spot sprint on Stage 8:

While the two Spaniards have been going at it at the front so far, Team Sky’s Porte is also within striking distance of the lead. He’s been a measured presence in the peloton up to now and given how the top two have been aggressive in their riding so far, he’ll be confident of capitalising in the latter stages of this arduous setup.

Daniel Dal Zennaro/Associated Press

Teddy Cutler of SportingIntelligence thinks that this year’s Giro is going to be Porte’s best chance of winning a Grand Tour title for a while:

But provided he stays fit and can conquer the obvious discomfort that will accompany a dislocated shoulder, it’s tough to see anyone wrestling the maglia rosa off Contador. He’s a seasoned competitor and thoroughbred winner, and up to now, he’s been capable of nullifying any major assaults too.

Porte and Aru each have the class to keep this one exciting for the remainder of the tour, but as Milan draws closer into sight for these riders, the pedigree of Contador will see him pull away from the rest. Fitness permitting, of course.