The 2025 cycling season is coming to an end, but first there are still a few prestigious races on the calendar. The European Championships in France, of course, but traditionally also the Italian autumn classics. In the lead-up to the Giro di Lombardia, Saturday is the time for the Giro dell’Emilia. Who will win this beautiful race, with its iconic finish on the San Luca in Bologna? Isaac Del Toro? Local favorite Giulio Ciccone? Or Primoz Roglic for the fourth time? WielerFlits looks ahead!
In 2022 and 2023, the Giro dell'Emilia started in Carpi; last year the riders set off from Vignola, and this time the starting gun will sound in Mirandola. This also means a different approach to the famous final circuit in Bologna, which remains unchanged. The first 65 kilometers are flat as a billiard table, but then the first climb of the day appears with the San Lorenzo in Collina (5.6 km at 3.5%). Next come the Mongardino (2.1 km at 6.9%) and the Monzuno (9.1 km at 5.2%). The steep Montechiaro (3.3 km at 9.1%)—new to the route last year—does not have to be tackled this time.
Instead, the riders reach Bologna after 155 kilometers via the Monte Calvo (4.2 km at 5.5%). There, for the first time, they face the famous San Luca (2.1 km at 10%). It’s worth pausing to consider what makes the climb to the Sanctuary of San Luca so tough. It's partly the length of just over two kilometers, but mainly the steep gradients exceeding 10%.
The first few hundred meters of this now iconic climb are particularly tough with nearly a 14% gradient. Then the ascent flattens out somewhat, although ten percent is still very challenging. When the riders pass the banner of the final kilometer, a left-hand turn under the medieval gate follows. After a slight combination of bends, the pain begins: about 400 meters at more than 12%, with a peak of 16%. After this steep section, the worst is over, as the last 500 meters climb at just over 6%.
After the first passage over the top of San Luca, there are still more than forty kilometers to the actual finish. Now come four laps of nine kilometers each, meaning four more climbs of the San Luca. The finish line is drawn at the top of the fifth passage of this iconic sting, after 199 kilometers. This makes the race sixteen kilometers shorter than last year.
Giro dell'EmiliaMirandolaSan LucaTadej Pogacar, last year’s winner, will not defend his title at the Giro dell’Emilia. The world champion rides the European Championships in the Ardèche on Sunday, alongside Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, Mattias Skjelmose, João Almeida, and Juan Ayuso, among others. And yet a strong peloton will line up in Mirandola on Saturday. Three-time winner Primoz Roglic is once again part of the race. The Slovenian won the Giro dell’Emilia in 2019, 2021, and 2023. If this sequence continues, 2025 could be his year again.
Roglic’s form is certainly not bad. At the World Championships won by his countryman Pogacar, he finished eleventh. And that after nearly two months without racing. Thanks to the motivation gained in Rwanda, he undoubtedly made progress. Whether this is enough to win Emilia for the fourth time remains to be seen, but the San Luca in Bologna definitely suits him.
However, there are more riders who like this climb. Take the sharp Isaac Del Toro, the provisional king of the Italian autumn. The just 21-year-old Mexican won the GP Industria & Artigianato, Giro della Toscana, Coppa Sabatini, and Trofeo Matteotti between September 7 and 14. Afterwards, Del Toro traveled to Rwanda for the World Championships, where he had to settle for seventh place but played an important role. Now the UAE Emirates XRG prodigy is back in Italy. Will he continue his winning streak here?
He will have to deal with Giulio Ciccone, who finished just one place ahead of Del Toro at the World Championships. That was a boost for the 30-year-old Italian, as he had a tough start to the season. In the Vuelta, saddle issues hindered him. Before that, Ciccone was performing well with a stage win in the Vuelta a Burgos and victory at the Clásica San Sebastián. He now seems to have found those legs again. That makes the Lidl-Trek rider a dangerous contender for the Giro dell’Emilia.
Tom Pidcock is naturally also one to watch. Last year, the Brit finished second in the Italian classic behind an untouchable Tadej Pogacar. This year he seems to have made further progress as a climber, with a third place in the Vuelta as the main proof. However, Pidcock didn’t really enjoy the World Championships. Although he finished tenth in Kigali, afterwards he called it ‘the most unpleasant race of the year.’ He suffered greatly. If Pidders has properly recovered from that brutal race, he could show strong form on the San Luca. He has the punch to break away from everyone there.
Pidcock’s compatriot Oscar Onley is also someone to keep an eye on. At the World Championships in Kigali, he was hardly visible and recorded a DNF, but the 22-year-old Picnic PostNL rider should be perfectly suited to the Giro dell'Emilia. After all, we’re talking about the fourth-placed rider in the Tour de France. Moreover, Onley naturally excels on explosive climbs.
While Onley was invisible at the World Championships, Ben Healy earned the bronze medal. The Irishman only had to concede to Remco Evenepoel and winner Tadej Pogacar. Of the Giro dell’Emilia participants, he performed best in Rwanda, but that doesn’t immediately make him the top favorite on Saturday. Healy excels mainly when he can attack from far out and showcase the Aerocone from Kingswinford. The Giro dell’Emilia is often decided in a direct duel on the San Luca climb, though. Or is Healy currently so strong that he can write his own script?
EF Education-EasyPost also have Richard Carapaz available. The Ecuadorian had his sights set on the World Championships and initially seemed on course for a great result in Rwanda but ultimately failed to make an impact. He recorded a DNF. A week later, however, the world may look very different, especially for a mercurial rider like Carapaz. His form also seems sound since he recently finished third on the podium at the Tour of Luxembourg. In the Giro dell’Emilia, he was seventh two years ago.
Lenny Martinez should also suit this race well. The Frenchman climbs excellently (when having a good day) and can also finish strongly after a tough race. He demonstrated this in the Tour de Romandie, where he outpaced João Almeida on the queen stage. He also took stage wins in Paris-Nice and the Critérium du Dauphiné this year—results that count. Martinez could be in the running for victory in the Giro dell’Emilia, but it remains to be seen how his form is. He hasn’t raced since the Clásica San Sebastián (DNF).
We do know for sure that Jai Hindley is in good shape. The Australian finished fourth in the Vuelta and sixteenth at the World Championships. In his professional career, he has never won a one-day race, but in this field, he certainly belongs among the best climbers. That offers opportunities.
Finally, outsiders like Adam Yates, Jay Vine (UAE Emirates XRG), Ben Tulett, Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma | Lease a Bike), Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), Julian Alaphilippe, Michael Storer (Tudor), Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana), Pello Bilbao, Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious), Davide Piganzoli (Polti VisitMalta), and Ben O'Connor (AlUla) also have chances for good results. Dutch eyes will be on Thymen Arensman of INEOS Grenadiers, which also fields outsider Egan Bernal at the start.
Saturday will bring a beautiful autumn day to the Emilia-Romagna region. Light wind (2 Beaufort from the southeast), twenty degrees Celsius, plenty of sunshine. What more could a rider want? Later in the day, a shower might fall, but most likely the riders will have been finished long before then.
The Giro dell’Emilia will be broadcast live on Saturday from 14:10 on HBO Max. See all TV channels and broadcast times in our Cycling on TV guide.
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2025 |  Isaac Del Toro Romero |
| 2024 |  Tadej Pogačar |
| 2023 | Primož Roglič |
| 2022 |  Enric Mas Nicolau |
| 2021 | Primož Roglič |
| 2020 |  Aleksander Vlasov |
| 2019 | Primož Roglič |
| 2018 | Alessandro De Marchi |
| 2017 | Giovanni Visconti |
| 2016 |  Jhoan Esteban Chaves Rubio |
Primoz Roglic at the Clásica San Sebastián - photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
Del Toro won a string of Italian races in September - photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
Pidcock impressed in the Vuelta – photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
Carapaz won a stage in the Giro and finished third overall this year - photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
How good is Martinez currently? - Fotopersburo Cor Vos
