I love the route for the 2010 Giro, even more than the route for the 2010 Tour (both look great, but for different reasons). The Netherlands ITT has Cancellara written all over it if he races the Giro (he's done the Tour of California the last couple years, so he might not). Stages 2 and 3 will wreak more havoc than early flat stages usually do, with cobbles being visited in both. If it rains, look out. I fully expect some GC favorites will lose half a minute or more on one or both stages. These might also be the stages that aren't necessarily Cavendish-friendly, leaving the door open for guys like Haussler, Hushovd, Boonen, or even Boasson Hagen or Devolder, who have all proven themselves on cobbles while Cavendish maybe hasn't (Champs-Elysees up to par with the Dutch cobbles?).

The team time trial, which I love but understand why some riders don't, returns in Stage 4. It's longer than this year's was, so time gaps of over a minute are probably likely, meaning it might sour the stronger GC men on weak time trialing squads from even coming to the Giro (Sastre? Hope not). Stage 5 is flat and belongs, right now, to Cavendish or Petacchi. End of story. Stages 6 and 7 are medium-mountain and seem to resemble the Austria stages from the 2009 Giro, though hopefully without a rider almost dying. Stage 7 definitely looks breakaway-friendly, while for Stage 6 I could see a morning breakaway winning, a group of GC favorites making it to the line first, or even a pack sprint happening.

Stage 8 is the first true mountain stage, and will belong to the GC men. From the chatter right now, we might have a Contador/Menchov rivalry brewing, and that would be something to see. Stages 9 and 10 belong to Cavendish or Petacchi again (I'd like to say I see anyone competing with them, but I don't, particularly as the Tour of California will probably take away Tyler Farrar, and others). Stage 11 would have been a stage for Danilo Di Luca, but y'know.... Looks to be fairly selective anyway, being the Giro's longest stage and, while not branded a mountain stage, it's fairly hilly.

Stage 12 is probably the last hurrah for Cavendish and Petacchi. Then the real race begins. Stage 13 is for the breakaway, as the GC men will be saving themselves for the Zoncolan and Plan de Corones. Stage 14 might also be for the breakaway, but it's a stage that the GC men will have to mark one another on, as time gaps are definitely going to be possible.

Then comes Stage 15. Monte Zoncolan. Heh heh heh heh. It's not as long as the Sestriere or Petrano stages from this year's race, but I expect it to cause time gaps of equal ridiculousness.

Hard to think that 12.9 kilometers will be as selective as 161, but the climbing time trial to Plan de Corones is a beast. It's so tough that Zoncolan just might even go to a breakaway, with the GC men just marking one another on the climb. This time trial just says Contador Contador Contador to me.

Stages 17 and 18 will probably go to the breakaways, as 19 and 20 in the high mountains will be on the minds of the GC men, and probably all of the Giro's marquee sprinters will be long gone by this point. Not much to say about Stages 19 and 20, as they'll obviously be the last battle ground for the GC. Stage 21's time trial is just a bit longer than the Stage 21 time trial this year, but it's actually the longest ITT in next year's race in terms of distance (Plan de Corones no doubt will have the longest winning time). We'd need a first to second time gap like we had in 2008 and not 2009 for this one to be selective at all; it will probably be a triumphant ride for the champion like it (sort of) was in 2009.

Looks to be an awesome race!!