The Giro d’Italia is an annual multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Along with the Tour de France and Vuelta a España, the Giro makes up cycling’s prestigious three-week-long Grand Tours – so it is a big deal in the word of cycling.

And for the first time in history, the race will start outside of Europe. Guess where.

GIRO D’ITALIA 2018: A HISTORIC BIG START FROM ISRAEL

For the first time ever, a Grand Tour will start outside of Europe. It’s the 13th time that Giro d’Italia starts outside of Italy. Israel will host the first three stages of next year’s Corsa Rosa, beginning with an Individual Time Trial in Jerusalem. Israel and the Giro remember Gino Bartali.

Giro d’Italia winners Alberto Contador and Ivan Basso, attended the event.

Friday 4 May 2018 will be a historic date for the Giro d’Italia and the whole world of cycling. The Big Start of the Corsa Rosa – to be raced from 4 to 27 May 2018 and organized by RCS Sport / La Gazzetta dello Sport – will be in Israel, outside of Europe for the first time. The first three stages will be in Israel. Due to the occasion, Gino Bartali has been remembered, awarded the honour of ‘Righteous Among the Nations’ on 10 October 2013. Bartali’s name is engraved on the Wall of Honor in the Garden of the Righteous in the Yad Vashem Memorial in Jerusalem. Two times Giro d’Italia winners Alberto Contador and Ivan Basso were at the presentation.

Here are the race stages in Israel:

STAGE 1 – JERUSALEM ITT

4TH MAY 2018 – 10,1 KM

The 2018 Giro d’Italia will start on Friday 4 May with an ITT in Jerusalem, following a very technical route finishing close to the walls of the Old City. With numerous bends on streets of the city and small ascents and descents, the route will pass by landmarks including the Parliament (Knesset) and the historic walls. The finale is uphill, with the gradient increasing from light to more demanding.

STAGE 2 – HAIFA – TEL AVIV

5TH MAY – 167 KM

The first in-line stage from Haifa to Tel Aviv, 167km long, is on Saturday 5 May. After the start, the route undulates around Acri and includes the first GPM (KOM) of 2018 Giro in Zikron Yakov. The second part of the route is substantially flat on wide roads, with the last few kilometres partly within the city of Tel Aviv and the finish line on the straight seafront.

STAGE 3 – BE’ER SHEVA – EILAT

6TH MAY – 226 KM

The third and final stage in Israel, on Sunday 6 May, runs 226km from Be’er Sheva to Eilat, on the Red Sea, heading south. After the start, the only gentle climbs lead the peloton to the Negev Desert and then to the Red Sea coast. Once past the town of Mitzpe Ramon, a long descent leads towards the finish in Eilat.

I am not a huge fan of cycling but I am a huge fan of pissing off BDS-holes. So I am more than happy to share this news far and wide!