Roche had the advantage in climbing mountains. However, unlike Visentini, Roche came into the race in great shape after winning the Tour de Romandie and placing second in the Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the Critérium International. Cycling expert and author Bill McGann thought that the race would be disputed between Visentini and Baronchelli. Route and stages The route for the 1987 edition of the Giro d'Italia was revealed to the public on television by head organizer Vincenzo Torriani on 21 February 1987. Covering a total of , it included five time trials (four individual and one for teams), and thirteen stages with categorized climbs that awarded mountains classification points. The course featured a total of climbing, more than the previous edition. Five of these thirteen stages had summit finishes: stage 1a, to San Romolo; stage 6, to Monte Terminillo; stage 15, to Sappada; stage 19, to Madesimo; and stage 21, to Pila. Another stage with a mountain-top finish was stage 13, which consisted of a climbing time trial to San Marino. The organizers chose to include one rest day between stages 10 and 11. When compared to the previous Giro, the race had the same number of stages – although one stage consisted of two half-stages – but was longer and contained an additional individual time trial. The sixteenth stage, which ran from Sappada to Canazei, was named the queen stage for its five categorized climbs. Race director Torriani was happy with the success the 1985 Giro d'Italia had when passing through the Aosta Valley and chose to include this mountainous region, which lies adjacent to the Rhône-Alpes, in the 1987 route. With the Giro's return to the valley, La Stampa and the regional cycling federation director, Maggiorino Ferrero, speculated that the stages taking place in this region would be critical in deciding the general classification. Carlo Champvillair, a climbing champion of Aosta Valley, believed it to be a well-constructed, technical race route. The time trial in San Marino, the sixth stage with the finish atop Monte Terminillo, and the stages including the Dolomites were seen by L'Unità writer Gino Sala as stages that would heavily influence the general classification. In addition, he said that the route was suited to well-rounded, strong, and durable riders. The prologue contained a descent of the Poggio, a mountain used frequently in the Milan–San Remo, and was considered dangerous by some critics. However, Torriani decided to