Thursday, October 31, 2024 at 4:07 PM
Update RCS, the organization of the Giro d’Italia, announced earlier today that the course presentation planned for November 12 has been postponed. What’s going on? According to Cycloweb it is uncertain due to political developments whether the Great Departure can continue in Albania. But the RCS says through general director Paolo Bellino that there is ‘no change in the plans’.
The fact that the Giro organization may have to look for a new host of the Tour of Italy is due to recent political developments, writes Cycloweb. The relationship between Italy and Albania has become more complicated due to “the political dynamics of recent weeks,” it said.
Italian Prime Minister Meloni wants to accommodate asylum seekers in Albania (for a fee). The first migrants had already been transferred to a reception center in Albania, but the court in Rome ruled that they are entitled to a regular asylum application in Italy. According to Cycloweb the ‘political agreements’ were related to the start of the Giro d’Italia.
Sicily
The Giro start in Albania is therefore in doubt, but a replacement is said to have already emerged. Sicily would like to organize the Grande Partenza. This news has not yet been confirmed, but Cicloweb mentions Palmero, Agrigento, Ragusa and Messina as possible start and finish locations of the three stages that would be held on the island. The very first stage will ‘very likely’ start in Trinacria, it sounds. After three stages, the round could continue as originally planned, in the Puglia region the heel of the boot.
Update 16.07
Paolo Bellino, general manager at organizer RCS, has now responded to the rumor. “There is no change in plans, nor any problem with Albania,” he counters Tuttobiciweb. “The press conference in Rome has only been postponed due to a technical problem on our side. I can’t say more because we will be issuing a press release soon.”
Also read: The latest news about the Giro d’Italia 2025 route.
