The Giro d'Italia has been postponed
The Giro d'Italia, scheduled for May 9 in Budapest (Hungary), suffered another setback. The organization of the race announced on Thursday that Hungary refused to host the departure, and as a result, the competition has been postponed by the organizing company RCS Sport.
"The Organizing Committee of the Hungarian stages of the Giro d'Italia has declared the impossibility of organizing the Grand Start of the Pink Race in Hungary on the initially scheduled dates. The parties reiterated their determination to work together to allow the Giro d'Italia to leave Hungary on a later date. Given the national and international situation, RCS Sport announces that the date of the Giro d'Italia 2020 is being postponed," the organization explained in a statement.
RCS anticipates that the date for the Giro, which will have Ecuadorian cyclist Richard Carapaz as the defending champion in this edition, will not be known before April 3, the deadline imposed by a decree from the Italian government for exceptional measures to combat the spread of the virus, as Europe is the worst affected by COVID-19.
A meeting is scheduled for Tuesday between the International Cycling Union (UCI), organizing companies of races such as the Giro and Tour de France, as well as team delegates and cyclists, to find a way to proceed with the rest of the season.
The Giro is the first major cycling race affected by the coronavirus pandemic. However, to date, there have been 54 suspended cycling races since the end of February, when the UAE Tour was canceled during the second stage. This race had the first positive cases among elite cyclists. (D)