Stage 12 of the 2010 Giro d'Italia took place on 20 May in Città Sant'Angelo, and the race concluded with stage 21 in Verona on 30 May. Seven of the last ten stages in the race contained mountain climbs, including the uphill individual time trial to Plan de Corones four days before the end of the race. The last eight stages were clustered in northeast Italy, with six summit finishes among them.

Monte Zoncolan is a mountain in the Carnic Alps, located in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, with an elevation of 1,750 metres (5,740 ft). It is one of the most demanding climbs in professional road bicycle racing, having been used in the Giro d'Italia seven times and the Giro d'Italia Femminile twice. Gilberto Simoni was the winner of the first two stages finishing on Monte Zoncolan in the men's Giro while Ivan Basso won in 2010, Igor Antón won in 2011, Michael Rogers won in 2014 and Fabiana Luperini won at the first visit in the women's race. Chris Froome won the stage in 2018 Giro d'Italia.