Giro D'Italia 2017: Dates, Route Map, Stage Previews and TV-Coverage Info

The 100th edition of the Giro d'Italia will begin on Friday, May 5 in Alghero on the island of Sardinia and culminate in Milan on Sunday, May 28.

The race is comprised of 21 stages and three rest days, with two individual time trials, 13 medium and high mountain stages and six stages for sprinters.

Riders will cycle across the Mediterranean islands of Sardinia and Sicily before arriving in mainland Italy at Reggio Calabria.

From there, the peloton will make their way north, passing through the likes of Florence, Forli and Monza before ending up in Milan for the final time trial.

Often regarded as the most difficult of cycling's Grand Tours, the Giro's centenary will be no different with five mountain stages preceding the last stage, including the infamous Passo di Mortirolo climb on the 16th.

Here is a complete guide to the route, courtesy of the race organisers:

And here is a stage-by-stage breakdown:

Stage	Date	Course	Distance	Type
Stage 1	May 05, 2017	Alghero - Olbia	206 km	Flat
Stage 2	May 06, 2017	Olbia - Tortoli	221 km	Hills
Stage 3	May 07, 2017	Tortoli - Cagliari	148 km	Flat
Rest day 1	May 08, 2017
Stage 4	May 09, 2017	Cefalu - Etna	181 km	Mountain
Stage 5	May 10, 2017	Pedara - Messina	159 km	Hills
Stage 6	May 11, 2017	Reggio Calabria - Terme Luigiane	217 km	Flat
Stage 7	May 12, 2017	Castrovillari - Alberobello	224 km	Flat
Stage 8	May 13, 2017	Molfetta - Paschici	189 km	Hills
Stage 9	May 14, 2017	Montenero de Bisaccia - Blockhaus	149 km	Mountain
Rest day 2	May 15, 2017
Stage 10	May 16, 2017	Foligno - Montefalco	39.8 km	ITT
Stage 11	May 17, 2017	Firenze - Bagno di Romagna	161 km	Hills
Stage 12	May 18, 2017	Forli - Reggio Emilia	229 km	Hills
Stage 13	May 19, 2017	Reggio Emilia - Tortona	167 km	Flat
Stage 14	May 20, 2017	Castellania - Oropa	131 km	Mountain
Stage 15	May 21, 2017	Valdengo - Bergamo	199 km	Hills
Rest day 3	May 22, 2017
Stage 16	May 23, 2017	Rovetta - Bormio	222 km	Mountain
Stage 17	May 24, 2017	Tirano - Canazei	219 km	Mountain
Stage 18	May 25, 2017	Moena - Ortisei	137 km	Mountain
Stage 19	May 26, 2017	San Candido / Innichen - Piancavallo	191 km	Mountain
Stage 20	May 27, 2017	Pordenone - Asiago	190 km	Mountain
Stage 21	May 28, 2017	Monza - Milan	29.3 km	ITT

Every stage will be televised on Eurosport 1 or can be streamed live via Eurosport Player.

Former winners Nairo Quintana and Vincenzo Nibali will be among the favourites to win the Giro this year.

Quintana is in excellent shape in 2017 with a number of wins under his belt already, including general classification victories at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and the Tirreno-Adriatico, as well as a stage win at the Vuelta Asturias on Sunday.

Global Cycling Network hailed him as the "man to beat":

The 2014 winner believes local favourite and reigning champion Nibali will prove stern opposition, though.

"He's on home turf," Quintana said, via Cycling News. "I think he's the greatest rival I have in this Giro."

The Colombian is targeting both the Giro and the Tour de France and has been seeking to improve both in time trials and in dealing with climbs: "I'm continuing to hone my time-trialling, and it's still getting better as far as it's possible. Also the mountains, but with a lot of care—I have to arrive in good shape at both the two races."

JOSE JORDAN/Getty Images

Quintana will get his first chance at a time trial in Stage 10 between Foligno and Montefalco.

Meanwhile, Nibali will hope to have the maglia rosa in his possession early on, particularly with Stage 5 ending in his home town of Messina. The stage is especially suited for the sprinters and so a stage win for Nibali seems unlikely here. Indeed, with a flat final third the peloton should be grouped together ahead of the finish.

The 32-year-old warmed up for the Giro by winning the Tour of Croatia, in which he showed his remarkable resilience, per cycling writer Mihai Cazacu:

The Italian won the Giro in 2013 and 2016, the latter comprised of a stunning comeback from almost five minutes behind the pink jersey with three stages remaining, so with a series of mountain stages in the final week of the race he could still be in contention wherever he stands in the general classification.

Team Sky might also have ambitions of winning the Giro. They revealed their lineup for this year, per the Press Association's Matt Slater:

Eurosport's Felix Lowe believes they could rival Quintana:

Co-leaders Geraint Thomas and Mikel Landa will have their eyes on winning the race, with the former taking the Tour of the Alps crown in April, while the latter will be hoping to improve on his third-place finish in Italy in 2015, particularly after having to abandon the race through illness last year.

The opening Grand Tour of the year is already one of the most prestigious events in road cycling and it's set to be a fascinating edition once again this year, with the race's 100-year anniversary making it even more special.