01/11/2024

Grande Partenza in Albania in danger! Giro d'Italia organizers postpone route presentation due to "technical problem"

Cycling fans eagerly awaiting the presentation of the Giro d'Italia 2025 route will have to wait a little longer. The presentation was scheduled for Tuesday 12 November, but has been postponed for unknown reasons.

The organization behind the Giro d'Italia, RCS Sport, announced the postponement on Thursday in a press release. It is not only about the route of the upcoming Giro d'Italia for men, but also about the route of the Giro d'Italia Women 2025. "We will come up with a new date for the presentation as soon as possible," it said.

So we still have to wait a bit longer for the definitive route of the 108th edition of La Corsa Rosa. In an interview with BiciSport, Giro boss Mauro Vegni has already revealed what the Giro will look like in broad terms in 2025. The Grande Partenza will be in Albania, where the first three stages will be held. The finish is in Rome.

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So what's behind the delay?

According to Radiocorsa (RAI), the problem with the Grand Départ in Albania is that Albania wants to withdraw because it appears they didn’t appreciate the Italian media's coverage, specifically the criticisms directed at Albania.

RAI insists the withdrawal hasn't got to do with political reasons but rather due to the negative portrayal of Albania by Italian public opinion, driven by newspapers and TV talk shows.

The same source suggests the replacement for Albania will eventually be the old candidature of Trieste. Cicloweb proposed Sicily as back-up option earlier today, but RAI isn't in favor of this alternative citing that RCS don't believe in Sicily candidature.

"No problem with Albania", is what Paolo Bellino, CEO and general manager of RCS Sport, confirmed to Tuttobiciweb. "No change of plans, no problem with Albania, the press conference of November 12 in Rome was postponed only and exclusively due to a technical problem of ours. I can't say more, also because we will issue a press release shortly."