What has happened and what is expected in the Giro d'Italia 2025?

The first week of the 2025 Giro d'Italia leaves us with a completely uncertain race in which making predictions becomes tremendously adventurous with practically all the mountains ahead and, above all, a start to the second week that will be marked by the flat time trial in Pisa which, with its more than 28 kilometers, should clarify the general classification a lot. Surprising riders like Isaac del Toro have joined the top favorites Roglic and Ayuso, and riders like Egan Bernal, Richad Carapaz, or Giulio Ciccone remain in a discreet background ready to explode the race.

The Giro d'Italia facing two weeks of uncertain outcome

Many things have happened in the first week of the Giro d'Italia that started, what seems like a long time ago, in Albanian lands with three stages marked by the serious accident of Mikel Landa that left the Spanish fans orphaned of their idol from the beginning and a first time trial in which Roglic seemed determined to dominate the Giro d'Italia from the start. It also left the Albanian journey to a Mads Pedersen as an absolute dominator of the mass sprints and the feeling that the cyclamen jersey already had an owner from here to Rome.

After a first rest day, forced by the long transfer, the Giro finally passed through Italian lands with a Mads Pedersen who continued to wear the pink jersey thanks to the bonuses, achieving a new victory out of the three that were within reach of the sprinters.

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In the final stretch of the week, it was the turn of the Apennines, with the first mountain finish in Tagliacozzo where Juan Ayuso wanted to mark territory and reaffirm himself as a contender for the final victory and a stage of struggle in the breakaway that brought another unexpected change of leadership.

Then, everything exploded in the anticipated sterrato stage that ended this first week due to a silly crash that cut off several favorites and the untimely puncture of Primoz Roglic when trying to make up for the lost time. A powerful Isaac del Toro emerged, immediately claiming his role within UAE Team Emirates, but also becoming a double-edged sword for the Emirati team.

On one hand, the advantage of both Isaac del Toro and Juan Ayuso over Primoz Roglic neutralizes what was initially the Slovenian's main asset, namely the time trial in which, in theory, he should have opened up a more or less significant gap to his rivals. Now, the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe rider must use the time trial to recover the time he has lost in the general classification, so he will have to expose himself much more in the mountains to win this Giro d'Italia.

On the other hand, the situation of UAE Team Emirates-XRG is not comfortable despite having their two main riders leading the general classification with a substantial lead over Primoz Roglic. The problem is that when Ayuso already thought he had earned the leadership role, the strength shown by Del Toro and his advantage in the general classification means that it is no longer the case, which, as we know from some time watching cycling, usually leads to internal struggles within teams that do not end well.

Looking ahead to the time trial, if we consider the results of the one held in Albania, Del Toro and Ayuso practically replicated their performance, and in both cases, the gap that Primoz Roglic opened up was not excessive, although, of course, that was a stage with a more urban route and shorter distance that has nothing to do with the one in Pisa, truly for specialists like the Slovenian.

We must also not overlook the role that other riders who are currently in the background may play in the fight for the general classification. While it is true that riders like Ciccone, Carapaz, Simon Yates, or Egan Bernal should give up a more or less significant amount of time due to their time trial abilities, we must consider that they are all great climbers and, in the little mountainous terrain we have seen so far in this Giro, none of them has shown weakness yet and they could try to shake up the race when least expected.

In summary, we are facing two weeks that present us with a Giro d'Italia that is wide open and that will surely remain so at the end of the second week where the mountains have not yet made their full appearance. Only the stage next Sunday, in which the Monte Grappa will be climbed, will offer us a battle among the general classification riders. However, let's not forget that saving energy will be vital because the third week has a completely inhuman route where we will discover who the strongest rider in the race is.