Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali

The race typically runs five stages across Emilia-Romagna, with a mix that includes at least one individual time trial, often a team time trial, and several hilly road stages that favor puncheurs and climbers without being mountainous. The time trials tend to create the largest GC gaps, but the road stages are rarely processional. Expect short, steep climbs in the Apennine foothills, narrow roads, and finales that reward positioning and late accelerations. The general classification is usually decided by a combination of time-trial strength and the ability to stay alert on rolling terrain. Breakaways succeed more often here than in bigger stage races, partly because teams are smaller and partly because March form is uneven. The winner is typically a rider who can time trial competently and climb well enough to survive the hillier stages without losing significant time.