Although the Giro d'Italia is the longest-running women’s Grand Tour on the calendar, with 34 editions to date, it has failed to move with the times in recent years. Before the advent of the Tour de France Femmes, the Giro was the most prestigious women’s stage race on the calendar purely by virtue of being the longest and most challenging. The fluctuating fortunes of the Giro have now taken a positive turn with a fresh name, proof of advanced planning and a testing course.
Previously, the poor level of organisation of the race was something of a running joke in the peloton. After the introduction of mandatory live coverage for Women’s WorldTour events in 2020 and the Giro organisers failing to comply, the race was subsequently relegated to 2.Pro level in 2021.
