"What's the solution? Stop flying?" - Giro director defends decision for long-distance travel on final day

Giro d'Italia director Mauro Vegni has given his face to respond to the criticism that has been thrown against the race due to the long transfer in the final day into Rome. The decision has caused a stir amidst protest related to climate change in cycling.

"I don't think one charter flight from the north of Italy to Rome is any worse than the thousands of scheduled flights that are taken every day. What's the solution? Stop flying?" Vegni told Cyclingnews. "I think that's a sterile polemic. There are lots of ways to respect and help the environment, it's not only about one flight less or one flight more. We need to look at the whole footprint of the sport, sit down together and decide what we can do about it."

In recent years both Giro and the Tour de France have been the target of protests by climate-change activists. Cycling, with it's extensive convoy, and frequent long trips and flights, carries a weight in the carbon footprint. Although measures are being done to limit it, many have not taken the 700-kilometer flight from (near) Monte Lussari to Rome on the final day of the 2023 route, instead of the initial plan to end the race in nearby Trieste.

"Apart from the final transfer to Rome, we've reduced the transfer to the bare minimum. We're also working on our recycling and have done a lot to help the environment. We can always do more but I think we're doing a lot," Vegni responded.

However, talking positive sides, Vegni has commented on the feedback and presence he expects in the race. "I think Remco could ride next year's Giro but I've got to admit that I'm a bit bored with all the talk about who will and who won't ride the Giro. That's not what cycling is about," he admits however.

"Riders come and go, great races like the Giro d'Italia, the Tour and the Vuelta remain. It's the races that make the riders famous, not the other way around. If this year's Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard hadn't won the Tour, nobody would be speaking about him as they are now. So whoever rides and wins the Giro is a great rider," Vengi commented.

A brutal race, marked by almost 70 kilometers of time-trial and several high-mountain stages, four of them alone in the final week, he's added: "Nothing against the other races but the Giro is widely considered the hardest Grand Tour of all," he said.

"Other races might have more pressure, more visibility and raise more expectations but the Giro is second to know when it comes to the beauty and the difficulty of the route. The Giro is a combination of two things: it's a great race but also shows off the beauty of Italy, its culture and lifestyle. Cycling combines sport and culture in a unique way," he concluded.