The route for the 2020 Giro d'Italia is announced

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VIDEO SHOWS: GRAPHIC SHOWING THE ROUTE OF THE 2020 GIRO D'ITALIA

SHOWS: UNKNOWN LOCATION (JULY 30, 2020) (RCS - ACCESS ALL)

1. GRAPHIC SHOWING RACE ROUTE

2. (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) MAURO VEGNI, GIRO D'ITALIA DIRECTOR, SAYING:

"What has happened, I think it's something exceptional, in a negative sense of course of my career I've never seen.

"So the Giro of this year could really become an important moment for the country to give its image a fresh breakthrough, to draw tourism attention to our regions.

"Of course the Giro has an upper hand in promoting our territory, our restarting nation."

3. WHITE FLASH

4. (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) MAURO VEGNI, GIRO D'ITALIA DIRECTOR, SAYING:

"But I don't expect a behind close doors Giro because then the spirit of sports in general, and especially of cycling, that lives out the passion of its fans, would be missing.

"Obviously, as to the fans, we've said that regarding the start and finish areas, those with the highest number of people that we manage, we are ready to manage them according to the parameters we have submitted, such as body temperature checks, safe distancing, masks, hand sanitisers, limit people in the areas proportionally to their square metre size."

STORY: The route for the 2020 edition of the Giro d'Italia, which will now start in October, has been announced.

The race, which was originally due to start in the Hungarian capital Budapest in May but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, will now take place wholly within Italy.

Race director Mauro Vegni said that he hopes the race will give a boost to a tourist industry hard hit by COVID-19.

"The Giro of this year could really become an important moment for the country to give its image a fresh breakthrough, to draw tourism attention to our regions," he said.

"The Giro has an upper hand in promoting our territory, our restarting nation."

Vegni said he did not expect the race to be held without fans, with special measures taken at the first and last stages where numbers will be carefully managed.

The opening stage on October 3 will be a time trial from Monreale to Palermo in Sicily, with the race finish in Milan on October 25.

(Production: Andy Ragg)