Image 1 of 5 The Passo Gavia snakes through the snow (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 2 of 5 2019 Giro d'Italia: Stage 16 Passo Gavia KOM Profile (Image credit: RCS Sport) Image 3 of 5 The Gavia is officially closed to traffic but will be open for the Giro d'Italia (Image credit: Cyclingnews) Image 4 of 5 Annemiek Van Vleuten (Mitchelton-Scott) is the leader of the Giro Rosa after stage 7 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 5 of 5 Andy Hampsten hits out on his epic ride on the Gavia in the 1988 Giro d'Italia wearing ski goggles (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

The 2019 Giro Rosa is set to feature a summit finish on the Passo di Gavia, according to a report on Tuttobiciweb. The ten-day event will take place from July 5-14, and the route will be presented in full in March.

Recent editions of the Giro Rosa have not scaled the Gavia, and the summit finish on the mountain is likely to be the tappone or queen stage of the 2019 edition of the race. This year’s Giro Rosa featured a summit finish atop Monte Zoncolan, while the Stelvio and Mortirolo have also been on the route in recent years.

The mighty Gavia, which stands at an altitude of 2,621 metres, first featured in the men’s Giro d’Italia in 1960 and gained everlasting notoriety after Andy Hampsten’s snowbound ascent into the maglia rosa in 1988. In 2019, the Gavia will be the Cima Coppi - the highest point - of the men's race, when it will be scaled along with the Mortirolo on stage 16 to Ponte di Legno.

The Gavia featured as a summit finish at the under-23 Giro in 2012, when Joe Dombrowski defeated Fabio Aru on its slopes to claim final overall victory in the race.

According to Tuttobiciweb, next year’s Giro Rosa will also include a team time trial, which it suggests will take place “on the roads of Fausto Coppi” to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Il Campionissimo’s birth. It has already been confirmed that stage 11 of the men’s Giro will finish in Novi Ligure in honour of Coppi.

2018 Giro Rosa winner Annemiek van Vleuten voiced her enthusiasm for the mooted summit finish atop the Gavia on social media on Saturday morning, writing, “Love this!” The Dutchwoman triumphed atop the Zoncolan en route to Giro Rosa victory this year, in a season that saw her win the overall standings in the UCI Women’s WorldTour.

It remains to be seen what other mountain passes will figure on the 2019 Giro Rosa course. Following the success of this year’s stage atop the Zoncolan – which was first tackled by the race back in 1997 – it was suggested that the nearby Monte Crostis could stage a summit finish in 2019. Speaking in July, Enzo Cainero, the head of the local organising committee, conceded, however, that there were “still problems of a logistical nature to overcome.”