(Reuters) – The final stage of this year’s Giro d’Italia will be dedicated to Pope Francis, who died on April 21, with a neutralised start in Vatican City, race organisers said on Tuesday.
The Giro, which begins in Albania on May 9, will end on June 1 in Rome, and before the official start of the final stage, riders will pass through Vatican City before leaving through Porta del Perugino.
This is the third consecutive year that the Giro will conclude in the Italian capital but only the seventh time Rome has hosted the finish in 108 editions of the race.
“This presence is renewed this year with an exciting symbolic start from Vatican City, a tribute to Pope Francis, his persona, and his message of hope in the Jubilee year,” Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said.
The Giro has passed through the Vatican City on two previous occasions. The 1974 race began there and the prologue of the 2000 edition finished in St. Peter’s Square.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes, editing by Ed Osmond)
