Giro: Plan de Corones

Tomorrow's 17th stage of the Giro d'Italia finishes with a 1260 meter climb to Plan de Corones. In their never-ending quest to make the Giro the most macho of all stage races, the organizers are grading and resurfacing an alpine ski area's service road. Some stretches of the final grade, which averages 12%, run immediately parallel to the lift line. Rumor had it that some of the hairpin turns would reach 24% grade, and all but the hardiest of climbers would be walking their bikes up an gravel trail to the finish. Igor Tavella has a video of the climb, and it's clear that the route's surface is much improved over last year's gravel road to the Finestre. Still, it's high enough and steep enough to be another classic.

Igor has also made a KML file available for download.