Giro-E Enel 2026 – Stage 8 La Spezia – Chiavari

This edition of Giro-E features a lot of Liguria. After waving goodbye to Versilia, we continue heading northwards, from La Spezia to Chiavari. It’s a gruelling stage – almost 90 kilometres in total, with a nice altitude differential. It’s one for real pedal enthusiasts. Riders follow the coastline while climbing and descending, alternating between uphill challenges in the Ligurian hinterland and diversions through coastal resorts such as Levanto, Sestri Levante and Lavagna before reaching the finish line.

There’s little time for sightseeing, which is a shame because La Spezia is a city that deserves a closer look. Despite the tourism which has adversely affected the customs and traditions of the wider region, La Spezia remains untarnished. It’s the second most populous city in Liguria after Genoa, renowned for its Arsenal and military base, and is a settlement with an ancient and important history. It boasts a great deal of religious architecture (most notably the Cattedrale di Cristo Re), palaces, monuments, fountains, museums and 19th century forts which, at the end of the century, made it the most fortified naval base in Europe. It’s a proper city, and a place where one can be lulled by the almost poetic local dialect. The Naval Technical Museum, the largest of its kind in Italy, is well worth a visit, a place which tells the story of navigation from its origins to the present day. A diversion to Portovenere is also recommended. It’s a small gem but one to be avoided in the summer months, when there are more tourists in the village than fish in the sea.

The La Spezia-Chiavari stage

Of the endless (195-kilometre) stage for the professionals, today the Giro-E extracts the essence, the La Spezia-Chiavari section, the most compelling from a cycling point of view. It consists of 82.9 kilometres with an elevation gain of 1,550 metres, a real toboggan run of curves and climbs.

After leaving La Spezia riders climb the Passo del Termine and the Colle di Guitarola along the Cinque Terre. This is followed by Sestri Levante, where two short and steep climbs (Colla dei Scioli, with sections at 15% gradient, and Cogorno, at 13%) are conveniently avoided by the non-pros, leaving them to head directly for the final stretch in Chiavari. La Spezia, making its debut as the starting point of the Giro-E, has a good relationship with cycling, both for having hosted important races and for being the birthplace of many riders, including Alessandro Petacchi. The Giro hadn’t featured here since 2015, when Davide Formolo reached the stage finish here first. However, the first time it featured was on 7 June 1929, when a certain Alfredo Dinale claimed victory, but with another and much more famous Alfredo, Binda, wearing the pink jersey.

Personality the day – Stefania Andriola

Today features a handover between captains in the RCS Sport team. Federico Scavo leaves and Stefania Andriola, a weather reporter who is also crazy about cycling, comes in. That means we have three female captains at the Giro-E Enel 2026: Stefania, Justine Mattera and Marta Bastianelli. Fantastic!

“I did my first Giro d’Italia in 2003 as Miss Maglia Rosa, in 2004 I awarded Damiano Cunego, and this year he’s a fellow captain of mine at the Giro-E. Great! It’s my first Giro-E and I’m happy to be involved. I love cycling so much – whenever I can I’ll hop on and ride. In general, I believe that cycling is the best way to discover the world, to feel good, to get around and to get to know the local area. Thanks to cycling I got to discover the beauty of all the towns near Monza. I also enjoy cycling because it’s sustainable – indeed, it’s the greenest form of transportation. I work at the Epson Weather Centre but I also deal with environmental and sustainability issues, as well as climate issues. So, wearing a uniform made with recycled materials and using an eco-sustainable water bottle makes me even more proud to take part in the Giro-E. I’m a bit intimidated by the fact that there are so many former professional captains, but I’ve got a lot of passion and a lot of love for cycling. I’ll give everything I can to the people who ride for me, from the most to the least experienced, because I want to return home from this experience having given my travel companions a great time. I would also like other women to take inspiration and encouragement from me so that they can experience this event in the saddle and enjoy the thrill of the Giro-E.”Today features a handover between captains in the RCS Sport team. Federico Scavo leaves and Stefania Andriola, a weather reporter who is also crazy about cycling, comes in. That means we have three female captains at the Giro-E Enel 2026: Stefania, Justine Mattera and Marta Bastianelli. Fantastic! I did my first Giro d’Italia in 2003 as Miss Maglia Rosa, in 2004 I awarded Damiano Cunego, and this year he’s a fellow captain of mine at the Giro-E. Great! It’s my first Giro-E and I’m happy to be involved. I love cycling so much – whenever I can I’ll hop on and ride. In general, I believe that cycling is the best way to discover the world, to feel good, to get around and to get to know the local area. Thanks to cycling I got to discover the beauty of all the towns near Monza. I also enjoy cycling because it’s sustainable – indeed, it’s the greenest form of transportation. I work at the Epson Weather Centre but I also deal with environmental and sustainability issues, as well as climate issues. So, wearing a uniform made with recycled materials and using an eco-sustainable water bottle makes me even more proud to take part in the Giro-E. I’m a bit intimidated by the fact that there are so many former professional captains, but I’ve got a lot of passion and a lot of love for cycling. I’ll give everything I can to the people who ride for me, from the most to the least experienced, because I want to return home from this experience having given my travel companions a great time. I would also like other women to take inspiration and encouragement from me so that they can experience this event in the saddle and enjoy the thrill of the Giro-E.”