To answer that, we need to open up the topic a bit and say that the tendency in the last years has been to start the race from the Southern part of the country. Then, across the 3 weeks, gradually going North, tacking the Alps at the last week and finishing at a big city such as Milan or Verona, still in the Northern part.

When the organizers are planning the itinerary they try each year to let the race pass through different areas of the country: one year maybe its the Adriatic Coast, another year the Tirrenic one. This is to give each region the same amount of publicity and recognition. At the same time, during the planning, they need to keep into account the number of Mountain Stages, the ones more suitable for Sprint Finish and the Chronos; all mixed together nicely and organically.

In the last few years, due to sponsors interests (the same applies to the Tour the France), the start or even a few initial stages of the race are taking place outside the territory of the nation. It happened this year with the first 3 days in Hungary, and previously also in Israel and so on.

The final itinerary is announced 6 months before the start and some people start planning their holidays already in advance, following the different parts the Giro is going to take place.

Last but not least, a personal opinion I find the fact that the Island of Sardegna is never included on the route quite unfair. The reason why it's not a part of it probably related to a logistical issue but knowing how beautiful the landscape is there I find it a pity.

Have you ever asked yourself how the routes of every grand tour are chosen? What is the process behind the itinerary planning and how things are prepared?

In the world of World Tour Cycling there are 3 grand tours across the calendar. The Tour the France, the Vuelta in Spain and the Giro in Italy.

Today we will be talking and going a little bit more into detail about the last one: Il Giro d' Italia.

These days I often get this question asked from friends and people living abroad: why is The Giro is not coming to Tuscany?

You might also ask yourself: how is it possible to organize such a big event? Well, the answer is: efficient and passionate people doing their job combined with technology. The organizing staff is made of around 20 people, subdivided in 3 groups: each of them taking care of different parts of everything.

One group looks after the start of each stage, another one after the arrival and the third one through the full route. It is definitely a complex job, considering the amount of people an even like this attracts (around 8 million of fans that are going every year to cheer their favorite athletes along all the race).

Between the 3 grand tours mentioned at the beginning of the article, the Giro is my favorite. And I'm not saying it because I am Italian, but for other reasons. Here I list some of them:

- The support from Italian fans is always incredible.

- The scenery is so different and still interesting every time, like reaching the platò during the mountain alpine stages.

And the main reason: the season this grand tour takes place. Riding across Italy in May, when the weather is still uncertain, especially in the mountains, makes every day stage very unpredictable and fascinating adventure to follow.

And who doesn't like a little bit of an adventure, specially if it involves bikes?