2014 Giro d'Italia five different categories, named A to E. The category of a stage determines the points given for the points classification, and for the maximum time allowed for cyclists to finish the stage. Category A is reserved for the flattest stages, while category D is for the stages with the highest mountains. Category E is for time-trial stages. It started in Belfast on 9 May 2014 and traveled across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. There were three rest days instead of the usual two and the race started on a Friday. In the 2014 Giro d'Italia, four different
2011 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11 be another flat stage. Scarponi believed that with the long, shallow uphill at the end of the course it was unlikely to feature a mass sprint, instead favoring an attacking rider like Di Luca. This stage visited the small Molise region, one of 17 visited by this year's Giro, due to unification celebrations (the three regions not visited – Sardinia, Apulia, and Valle d'Aosta – would be utilized in later editions of the Giro). The course turned northwards to head back towards the finishing city of Milan. Zomegnan, unlike Scarponi, believed that this would be a sprinter's stage. Nearly immediately