GranPiemonte 2025: Unpredictability Awaits on the Way to Acqui Terme

Everything is set for one of the oldest and most fascinating Classics on the international calendar. The 2025 GranPiemonte marks the 109th edition of a race first held in 1906 (before the Giro d’Italia itself), which has seen the greatest riders in history pass along its roads. Over the years, this competition has changed in countless ways – its place on the calendar, its organization, its route etc. – but its prestige remains intact. Today, from Dogliani to Acqui Terme over 179 km, another great spectacle awaits.

The Castelletto d’Erro climb will prove decisive

The 2025 GranPiemonte sets off from Dogliani, in the province of Cuneo, and finishes in Acqui Terme, in the Alessandria area, after 179 km. The opening phase of the race is fairly straightforward, with a few rolling sections across the Langhe and Monferrato hills. The first real test comes on the Bric della Forma climb (4.4 km at 6.3%), around 100 km from the finish. From there, the racing could heat up on the Rocchetta Palafea (2.7 km at 8.4%), tackled with 70 km to go.

The decisive moves, however, are likely to come on the double ascent of Castelletto d’Erro, a 6.1 km climb averaging 5.2%. The opening two kilometers bite hard with gradients of 10–11%, before easing slightly in the middle and then rising again in the final stretch. On the first passage, 47 km will remain to the finish, after which the riders will cross the line in Acqui Terme and begin a 33 km circuit. This takes them back to Castelletto d’Erro for a second ascent, 14 km from the finish, followed by a fast descent and the final 7 km of flat roads into town.