Somewhat surprisingly, the Giro d'Italia will begin on the Balkan Peninsula 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 planned to take place from May 9th to 31st, but may now start a day earlier to facilitate the transition from Bulgaria to Italy. The gathering will likely be in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, and may possibly visit the Black Sea coast before the caravan moves to Italy.
The news was announced by the Bulgarian government; organizer RCS Sport has not yet made an official statement. "On Wednesday, the government supported the proposal of two ministries to conclude negotiations for the organization of the prestigious sporting event," said Tourism Minister Miroslav Borshosh. "The Giro d’Italia will place our country on the global tourism map and make Bulgaria an internationally recognized destination."
The news arrived after the UCI banned the President of the Bulgarian Cycling Federation, 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 reportedly competed for the right to host the 2026 start with several other countries, including Abu Dhabi and reportedly even Saudi Arabia. In recent years, the Giro's international starts have also taken place in Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands, and Northern Ireland and Ireland. Albania reportedly paid RCS Sport nearly 10 million euros to secure the rights to host the Giro start in May.
