According to reports from Italian media, plans for the Giro d’Italia’s 16th stage to cross the fabled Stelvio pass are in jeopardy due to an uncleared road and high avalanche risk.
In a brief report, Italian press agency ANSA.it quoted Bolzano provincial councilor Daniel Alfreider as saying that plowing crews have been unable to access the pass to clear it. “After the snow has been cleared, the road must still be made safe against falling rocks and avalanches before being reopened,” Alfreider told the outlet, and there’s not time to do that before the May 21 stage takes place.
Stage 16 of the Giro is set to start in Livigno before crossing the Stelvio’s 2,760-meter summit and then dropping into a long, flat valley section before two final climbs, the Cat 1 Passo Pinei and the finishing climb to St. Christina in Gröden (Monte Pana). A re-route without the Stelvio wouldn’t change the stage final, but would remove one of the significant climbs of the stage, not to mention an iconic pass in Giro lore and the 2024 route’s Cima Coppi, or highest point.
RCS Sport, the organizers, have not publicly announced any plans yet for a re-route of Stage 16 or any other stages with high mountain passes that may be currently blocked by snow. But re-routes are a common occurrence at the first Grand Tour of the year, as ambitious high-mountain routes collide with the reality of late-season weather.
Last year, the organizers had to re-route the 13th stage due to snow blocking the 2,469-meter Grand Saint-Bernard summit early in the race. A second re-route happened the morning of the stage due to foul weather, with the route shortened to just 74.6 km and two climbs including the Crans-Montana finish.
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