Giro d'Italia 2022: When is the cycling race, what do the jerseys mean, how can I watch it on television, how much is the prize money and who is the favourite?

Cycling fans view the Giro d’Italia as being the most unpredicatable of the three Grand tours (the others being the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana), and this year’s event promises to be full of thrills and spills.

The 2022 event will be the 105th running of the race and will see cyclists take on an epic 3,410.3km-long journey split into 21 stages and including six true mountain stages, six hilly days, five sprinter stages and two individual time trials.

A total of 176 riders, including Britain’s Mark Cavendish, will be in the hunt for glory, representing 22 teams.

Here’s everything you need to know about the event.

When is the 2022 Giro d'Italia?

The Giro d’Italia starts on Friday, May 6, in Hungary, with Stage 1 taking in 195km from Budapest to Visegrad.

The race finishes on Sunday, May 29, with the 17.1km Stage 21 in Verona.

What do the different coloured jerseys mean?

Team Ineos rider Colombia's Egan Bernal and his team celebrate with the race's Trofeo Senza Fine (Endless Trophy) on the podium after winning the Giro d'Italia 2021 cycling race following the 21st and last stage on May 30, 2021 in Milan.

These are the key cycling jerseys to look out for:

Pink jersey (maglia rosa): worn by overall leader of the race.

Purple jersey (maglia ciclamino): worn by points classification leader, often called the sprinters’ jersey.

Blue jersey (maglia azzurra): worn by mountains classification leader, also known as ‘the king of the mountains’.

White jersey (maglia blanca): worn by best rider under 25 (at the start of the race year).

Who won the 2021 Gira d’Italia?

Last year saw Ineos Grenadiers' Egan Bernal claim victory in Milan.

Sadly he will not be able to defend his title, as he is recovering from injuries sustained in a bad off-season crash.

How much prize money is up for grabs?

The total prize purse for the 2022 Giro d’Italia is €1.5million.

The winner will get around €265,000 from the win, with second getting €133,000 and third €68.000.

Each stage also has cash prizes for the first 20 riders over the line, ranging from around €11,010 down to €2,863, while the daily leader of the race also receives €2,000.

The points classification leader (maglia ciclamino) will win €750 per day, with the top scoring rider on each stage receiving €700. The top three points winners at the end of the race will get €10,000, €8,000 and €6,000 respectively.

The mountains classification leader (maglia azzurra) also gets €750 each day, with €700 for the rider who takes the most points on the day, and €5,000 for who’s in front at the end of the race.

For riders 25 or under, the leader in the race for the maglia blanca will win €750 each day, with the final day winner receiving €10.000.

Who are the favourites to win the Giro d’Italia?

Ecuadorian WorldTeam Ineos Grenadiers rider Richard Carapaz is hot favourite to win the Giro, with odds of 11/8. Second favourite is Joao Almeida (11/2), followed by Simon Yates (6/1), Mikel Landa (8/1), Miguel Angel Lopez (10/1), Romain Bardet (10/1), Tom Dumoulin (20/1) and Emanuel Buchmann (20/1).

Meanwhile Dutch cyclist Matthieu Van Der Poel is favourite to win the first stage at 7/5, followed by Biniam Girmey (7/2), Caleb Ewan (11/2), Alessandro Covi (16/1) and Richard Carapaz (16/1).

How can I watch the 2022 Giro d'Italia on television?

There are two options for those wanting to watch the race in the UK, with live coverage of the Giro d'Italia both on Eurosport and GCN+.

Eurosport (and the online Eurosport Player), which comes included with many digital packages, will be providing live coverage of all 21 stages, along with evening highlights for each stage.

If you don’t have it already, you can also subscribe for £6.99 per month.

Alternatively, the race will be covered even more extensively by specialist cycling channel GCN+, which is available online or on Apple TV for £6.99 a month or £39.99 per year.

What are the 21 stages of the 2022 Gira d’Italia?

The dates and stages for the full race are as follows:

Stage 1 (May 6): Budapest – Visegrad, 195km, flat.

Stage 2 (May 7): Budapest – Budapest, 9.2km, ITT.

Stage 3 (May 8): Kaposvar – Balatonfured, 201km, flat.

Stage 4 (May 10): Avola – Etna (Rif. Sapienza), 166km, mountains.

Stage 5 (May 11): Catania – Messina, 172km, flat.

Stage 6 (May 12): Palmi – Scalea (Riviera dei Cedri), 192km, flat.

Stage 7 (May 13): Diamante – Potenza, 198km, intermediate.

Stage 8 (May 14): Napoli – Napoli, 149km, hilly.

Stage 9 (May 15): Isernia – Blockhaus, 187km, mountains.

Stage 10 (May 17): Pescara – Jesi, 194km, hilly.

Stage 11 (May 18): Santarcangelo di Romagna – Reggio Emilia, 201km, flat.

Stage 12 (May 19): Parma – Genova, 186km, intermediate.

Stage 13 (May 20): Sanremo – Cuneo, 157km, flat.

Stage 14 (May 21): Santena – Torino, 153km, mountains.

Stage 15 (May 22): Rivarolo Canavese – Cogne, 177km, mountains.

Stage 16 (May 24): Salo – Aprica, 200km, mountains.

Stage 17 (May 25): Ponti di Legno – Lavarone, 165km, mountains.

Stage 18 (May 26): Borgo Valsugana – Treviso, 146km, flat.

Stage 19 (May 27): Marano Lagunare – Santuario di Castelmonte, 178km, mountains.

Stage 20 (May 28): Belluno – Marmolada (Passo Fedaia), 167km, mountains.

Stage 21 (May 29): Verona – Verona, 17.1km, ITT.

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