Italy's iconic bike race is at the centre of a diplomatic spat
03 December 2024
Italy and Albania have been politically close for years. The current governments have signed several deals, including a controversial one that wanted to send migrants from Italy to Albania for processing their refugee application. This idyllic relationship received a strange blow after Albanian authorities pulled funding from the most iconic Italian cycling race, the Giro d'Italia.
Race organiser RCS was supposed to announce the new route for the 2025 edition in November, with a start abroad in Albania – a relatively common trend among cycling grand tours. However, the unveiling of the route has been postponed to mid-January. Albanian authorities apparently didn't appreciate critical comments made by Italian media organisations like Il Corriere della Sera and La7 about the migrant deal. Subsequently, they allegedly significantly lowered the funding promised to organise the first three stages of the Giro, which now has to scramble to manage the start.
 | Giacomo Fracassi Sports events are used everywhere to promote the hosting country. Albania's attempt at improving its international image with sports, a practice called sportwashing, is nothing new, nor is RCS' willingness to start in countries with questionable governments, having started in Hungary and more controversially in Israel in the past decade before resuming the race back in Italy. |
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