The route for next year's Giro d'Italia has been announced, with Belfast playing host to the opening two stages as the Giro visits the UK for the first time in its 97-year history.
Giro 2014 will open on Friday 9 May with a 21.7km team time trial. Three weeks and 3450km of racing will start in Belfast's newly designated Titanic Quarter, with the course heading east to Stormount and then back for a finish by City Hall.
Day 2, designated a flat stage, will be a 218km loop, taking the peloton north to the Antrim coast, where they will pass the famous Giant's Causeway en route before returning to Belfast.
After a 45 mile transfer to Armagh, stage 3 will see the riders cross the border as the 187km route skirts the east coast on its way south to Dublin, birthplace of 1987 champion Stephen Roche.
2013 winner Vincenzo Nibali was the star of the show at the launch event in Milan, although the Italian has not yet confirmed he'll defend his title as he focuses on the Tour de France.
The 2013 edition of the Giro is dedicated to the memory of the late Marco Pantani, with finishes at Oropa and Plan di Montecampione scheduled in honour of his famous victories there.
With three time trials, eight flat stages for the sprinters and nine mountain stages, the organisers have promised a 'more humane' course in 2014.
Riders will be spared 5000m of climbing compared to this year's race, with Andrea Monti, head of La Gazzetta dello Sport saying: 'We don't want a superman to win when the race finishes in Trieste.'
0 Comments