The countdown to the Giro d’Italia 2011 is now in its final stages with events kicking off on Saturday May 7 with the 19.3km Venaria Reale to Torino Team Time Trials before what promises to be 21 stages of blistering action which will culminate on May 29 in Milan with the 31.5km Individual Time Trials. This year’s Giro also marks an historic milestone for the country and Giro d’Italia Director Angelo Zomegnan has promised an event that: “…celebrates 150 years since Italian unification, underlining all the specific things that are important for our country, not just sporting but also cultural, social, political, geographical, artistic, agricultural and gastronomic…” And with a boost to national pride and to help honour the occasion Italian National Champion Giovanni Visconti (team Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli) has been awarded the number 150.
Zomegnan concluded his statement, when the course details were first announced, by saying: “More so than the Tour de France or the Vuelta, the Giro reflects the history of the country to which it belongs; Italy was not yet five decades old when the race was first held, and it played a key role in reuniting the country following the divisions caused by the Fascist era and World War II, providing the backdrop as Italy headed into the years of La Dolce Vita and the Miracolo Economico.”
Full starting team details can be found at: www.gazzetta.it
