Giro d'Italia organisers RCS revealed on Tuesday a "particularly tough" route for the race's 110th edition in 2017, taking in three motor racing circuits.
The quest to succeed Giro champion Jonas Vingegaard begins in Trieste on May 8 and will end in Rome on May 30, following more than 3 400 kilometres and over 50 000 metres of elevation gain.
It will have passages around the Mugello and Monza motor racing circuits, as well as the Misano Adriatico, where the fourth stage on May 11 will end.
There will be two individual time trials, like the 2027 Tour de France, and a penultimate stage taking in the mighty Monte Zoncolan.
It will be a mountainous conclusion to the race, with the highest point, the 2 618m Passo di Gavia, crested on the 16th stage and a brutal 18th stage with the Madonna di Campiglio coming after two trips up the Passo Durone.
After two successive starts abroad – in Albania and Bulgaria – next year's race begins in Italy, but the second stage will be ridden entirely in neighbouring Slovenia – home to the 2024 champion and five-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar.
He is unlikely to be on the start line as he targets a record-breaking sixth Tour success, but French starlet Paul Seixas said recently he had not decided which of the main two Grand Tours to ride next year.
The first six stages lend to breakaways and sprint finishes but the seventh stage will see the overall contenders battle it out in a mountainous 19.6km time trial, ending with a 12.5km-long climb.
The Giro d'Italia Women will begin in Viareggio, Tuscany on May 29, ending in a mountainous ninth stage in Val d'Aoste on June 6.
It will cover 1 132km with 17 450m of elevation gain, significantly more than the 12 500m of the 2026 edition.
The successor to Demi Vollering will no doubt be decided during the final two mountainous stages, an 11km individual time trial followed by the Val d'Aoste finale.