Giro della Toscana 2023

Overview

Welcoming in the Italian Classics campaign that encompasses the GP Bruno Beghelli, Tre Valli Varesine, Il Lombardia and more, the Giro della Toscana was first held in 1923 - a short time after the likes of Giro dell’Emilia, Milano-Torino and Gran Piemonte.

In similar fashion to the other Italian semi and major Classics, the Giro della Toscana often follows a gruelling, mountain-packed route, making it the preserve of the climbers and Grand Tour specialists.

Seven WorldTour teams, six ProTeams, four Continental outfits and one regional team will take to the start of this year’s race, with UAE Team Emirates arguably bringing the strongest team in the race. Their reigning champion Marc Hirschi will not be back, but their attack will be led by the irrepressible Tadej Pogačar, supported by George Bennett and Davide Formolo, no less. Elsewhere, the Slovenian’s strongest competition may come from Alexey Lutsenko (Astana-Qazaqstan), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) or soon-to-be teammate, Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers).

The race has followed a similarly mountainous route around Tuscany throughout its 100-year history and has regularly started and finished in the town of Pontedera. In more recent years, the one-day race has totalled around 200km and featured up to three laps of a gruelling circuit around the mountains to the north of the town. Each lap features an ascent of the infamous Monte Serra - an 8.4km-long climb that boasts an energy-sapping 7.1% average gradient.

The descent that follows this cruel climb is equally as tough, with a number of technical corners and adverse cambers to negotiate on the way down. From the foot of the descent to the finish, there’s a pan-flat section of around 15km. It’s here where those riders who escaped on the climb must try to work together, if there’s too much infighting then the chasers will be allowed back in.

Race key

Date: September 13, 2023

Country: Italy

Category: 1.1

Editions: 94 (as of 2022)

First winner: Costante Girardengo

Most recent winner: Marc Hirschi

Route

Pontedera → Pontedera (191.2km)

Contenders

A late entry into the race but the outstanding favourite, nonetheless, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) will be the man to beat in Tuscany as he ramps up his preparations for a third successive Il Lombardia title. The Slovenian is not only one of the best Grand Tour climbers in the world, but has proved himself as an exemplary one-day superstar in the past couple of years.

The winner of Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Flanders needs little by way of introduction, but his one-day success extends further than the three Monuments he has already bagged, tasting victory also in the Amstel Gold Race, GP de Montréal and La Flèche Wallonne. A recent podium finisher in the gruelling 2023 World Road Race Championship, Pogačar is the outstanding candidate to win this year’s Giro della Toscana.

Should he falter, UAE Team Emirates will turn to George Bennett, Davide Formolo and the young sensation, Jan Christen. The latter won one of the hardest stages of the Giro Next Gen earlier in the season, whilst Formolo will ride with the pride of Italy and Bennett found his career-best form in the Italian Classics during the 2020 season. The Arab team will not have it all their own way, however, with stiff competition coming from the likes of Cofidis, EF Education-EasyPost and Astana Qazaqstan.

Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) won this very race in 2017 and will be in the hunt for a second title, as will Michael Valgren (EF Education-EasyPost) and Gianni Moscon (Astana-Qazaqstan). Amongst their ranks also lay the versatile Alexey Lutsenko (Astana-Qazaqstan), a Grand Tour champion in Richard Carapaz and the fleeting climbing prodigy, Mark Padun (both EF Education-EasyPost).

Elsewhere, Ineos Grenadiers and Intermarché-Circus-Wanty should not be underestimated, with Dani Martínez, Pavel Sivakov (both Ineos Grenadiers), Lilian Calmejane and Louis Meintjes (both Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) amongst their ranks. Italian hopes, meanwhile, may be placed in the Jayco AlUla pairing of Alessandro de Marchi and Filippo Zana.

From the ranks of the ProTeams, eyes must kept on Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies), Gianluca Brambilla (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) and Vincenzo Albanese (EOLO-Kometa).

Teams

• Astana Qazaqstan
• Cofidis
• EF Education-EasyPost
• Ineos Grenadiers
• Intermarché-Circus-Wanty
• Jayco AlUla
• UAE Team Emirates
• Corratec-Selle Italia (PRT)
• EOLO-Kometa
• Euskaltel-Euskadi
• Green Project-Bardiaini CSF-Faizanè
• Q36.5 Pro Cycling
• TotalEnergies
• Electro Hipper Europa (CT)
• GW Shimano-Sidermec
• Mg.K Vis-Colors for Peace
• Work Service-Vitalcare-Dynatek
• Emilia Romagna (REG)

Race history

The home nation dominates the Giro della Toscana’s winners list, with a whopping 78 wins from 94 editions. Some of Italy’s most accomplished riders have won here too, like Fausto Coppi, Gino Bartali, Francesco Moser, Alfredo Binda and Costante Girardengo. Out of this pool of Italian legends it’s Bartali that reigns supreme, with five individual victories to his name. Moser, a three-time Paris Roubaix winner, lies just behind Bartali on four wins, while the recently retired Italian pro, Daniele Bennati, lies in third with three victories to his name.

Italy continues to dominate this race even in the modern era and claimed no less than six editions between 2010 and 2019. They’ve struggled to get off the mark in the 2020s however, with Fernando Gaviria, Michael Valgren and Marc Hirschi winning the last three editions respectively. Can the home nation bounce back in 2023? Or will their win-drought extend for another year?

Major Races

See All

Date	Event	Class
29 Jun - 21 Jul	Tour de France	2.UWT
12 Aug - 18 Aug	Tour de France Femmes	2.WWT
4 May - 26 May	Giro d'Italia	2.UWT
28 Apr - 5 May	Vuelta España Femenina	2.WWT

Provided by FirstCycling