L’Equipe says decision has been made for top Italian race to visit Belfast and Dublin
The organisers of RCS Sport have given a clear ‘no comment’ in relation to a L’Equipe story today confirming that the early stages of the 2014 Giro d’Italia will be in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
According to the French newspaper, the race will begin in Belfast, with Dublin also featuring on the schedule prior to a return to Italy.
If accurate, it will be the first time the event begins in Ireland, and only the second time in history a Grand Tour will start there. The 1998 Tour de France began with a prologue and a road race stage in and around Dublin, prior to travelling to Cork and taking a ferry to France.
News about a prospective start in the North of Ireland broke in October when the Belfast Telegraph revealed some details of the plans. It said that the estimated cost of the project would be £3.8 million (4.7 million euro), while the projected return has been put at up to £10 million (12.4 million euro).
It said then that the proposal to host the race had been put to representatives from both sides of the border and government officials, plus the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) and the southern equivalent Failte Ireland.
At the time, the NITB told VeloNation that it was unable to provide any information on the bid.
Shadetree Sports, a company which previously was involved in running the Tour of Ireland and which helped secure the 2015 world championships in Richmond, is involved. Pat McQuaid’s brother Darach has a senior role in the company.
It is believed that the likely date for the event would see the first stages run off over the bank holiday weekend of May 2 to 4, 2014.
The Tour de France will begin in Yorkshire, making it possible that cycling’s two biggest Grand Tours will start in Northern Europe that year.