Daunting ascent could decide overall winner Organisers of the 29th edition of the Giro d'Italia Internazionale Femminile will take the riders up the famed Monte Zoncolan during the penultimate ninth stage Anna van der Breggen wins 2017 Giro Rosa Claudia Cretti rides for the first time after Giro Rosa crash Full 2018 Giro Rosa route revealed "The big mountains are back as protagonists of the Giro Rosa," said Giuseppe Rivolta “It will be for sure a spectacular race and a sport show on the Italian roads." organisers presented stage 1 along with stage 9 and 10 at the Garzoni Theatre in Tricesimo President of the Stage Committee of Friuli Enzo Cainero and Mayor of Tricesimo Giorgio Baiutti welcomed participants to the presentation The Giro Rosa is the biggest stage race on the Women’s WorldTour calendar The 10-day race will begin on July 6 with a 15.5-kilometre team time trial in Verbania along the picturesque shores of Lago Maggiore The next seven stages will be announced in due course but the big feature of the next year’s Giro Rosa will be the final climb to the top of Monte Zoncolan Stage 9 will start from Tricesimo and include 104.7kms to the top of the final ascent The women will take on the toughest side of Monte Zoncolan 1,200 metres gained and has an average slope of 11.9 per cent (with sections as steep as 22 per cent) "The Zoncolan from Ovaro to its top is new for the Giro [Rosa],” said Enzo Cainero big importance about the quality and power of women cycling The Zoncolan was first featured in the Giro Rosa 20 years ago and at that time the climb began at Sutrio to the chair lifts Italian Fabiana Luperini won that stage and the overall title It has since been used five times in the men's Giro d'Italia.  the men will also climb its steepest side from Ovaro to the summit The 2018 Giro Rosa will end on July 15 with stage 10 with a short final circuit that includes a tough four-kilometre climb in Trivio Anna van der Breggen won her second Giro Rosa title in the 2017 edition She beat Elisa Longo Borghini and Annemiek Van Vleuten Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006 Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.