Somewhat surprisingly, the Giro d'Italia will start in the Balkans for the second year in a row. While this year's Grande Partenza was in Albania, next year it will start in Bulgaria.
The Giro was originally scheduled to run from May 9-31, but may now start a day earlier to facilitate the transition from Bulgaria to Italy. It is likely to gather in the Bulgarian capital Sofia and possibly visit the Black Sea coast before the caravan heads to Italy.
The news was announced by the Bulgarian government, but organiser RCS Sport has yet to make an official statement. "On Wednesday, the government supported the proposal of the two ministries to conclude negotiations on the organisation of the prestigious sporting event," said Tourism Minister Miroslav Borshosh. "The Giro d'Italia will put our country on the global tourism map and make Bulgaria an internationally renowned destination."
The news came after the UCI banned Bulgarian Cycling Federation president Evgeniy Balev Gerganov and vice-president Danail Petrov Angelov from participating in activities for two years due to abuse of power and conflict of interest.
Bulgaria is said to have competed with several other countries for the right to host the 2026 start, including Abu Dhabi and reportedly even Saudi Arabia. In recent years, international Giro starts have also taken place in Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland and Ireland. Albania is said to have paid RCS Sport nearly €10 million to secure the rights to host the Giro start in May.
