Maglia Rosa(pink leader's jersey) in Washington, DC ?!?

Morning Good Folks,

As a big cycling fan(especially the Italian scene) and proud Washingtonian this news piece really caught my attention.

Cyclingnews.com has posted an interesting article about a proposal to start the three week Giro D' Italia (Tour of Italy) from our very own Nation's Capital. The article cites immense interest on the part of Mayor Adrian Fenty who as locals know is an avid triathlete, cyclist and all around athlete. If carried out, there would possibly be two or three additional stages that would take place along the northeast/mid-Atlantic region such Philadelphia and New York City. Working against this plan would be factoring the immense costs, travel time and especially the jet lag factor for the riders. Read more at the link below.

http://www.cyclingnew...

Oh well, it is something nice to think about anyway.

Bests,
gregg

Well they are starting in Amsterdam in 2010, which is not exactly adjacent to Italy.

Perhaps they could include the Tour of Little Italy if they are visiting New York? Can't exactly see the relevance of
Washington DC, but maybe they could start the Tour de France in New Orleans, or the Tour of Ireland in Boston.

There's no real relevance tie in starting in a foreign country other than proximity & local financial support for the race. The idea is to provide the race with exposure outside of Italy and with economic development in the form of a popular event in that local area.

This is only gaining mention as
A. Fenty is a tri-guy and kinda gets cycling. Unsure about his understanding of the pro euro peloton
B. No leading city executive or official on the east coast has ever seriously said "We'd love it!"
C. The largest logistical nightmare is how do you get all the racers and everybody back over to europe w/o having two support crews. A pro team is like a mini town all unto itself the logistics of moving it city city in Europe are sketchy at best trans Atlantic would be a nightmare.

I have to wonder though if the ING Criterium can't find a corporate sponsor for downtown DC this race is a no go for the USA. Adding in the fact that it is during the same time frame at the Amgen Tour of California I wonder if this isn't the Giro playing to pique Armstrongs interest. When it comes to pro cycling in USA there's really only one name draw - Lance. He saved races in '09 and a euro tour in US with Lance may be a draw in 2011 (lance committed to tour of California in 201 I believe)

Hey Jonny, those are really good points. In addition, most likely the state and local governments(DC, NYC, PA, etc) would be required pick up the tab for the professional teams and any potential second support teams that would be required which would be politically questionable in this economic climate.

Also, Velonews has posted an article about the possibility of an American Giro start. The article can be read here.

Greetings All,

There's been more development in this story since it's initial release. The most recent news reports that there is a high level meeting scheduled between DC Mayor Fenty and Giro Organizer Angelo Zomegnan today concerning potential details for the initial two stages of a 2012 Giro D' Italia.

More information can viewed here:
http://www.cyclingnew...

gregg