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news
Jerusalem, Dome of the Rock (picture credit, Berthold Werner).JPGGiro d'Italia organisers draw up plans to move Big Start from Israel
The unrest in Israel sparked by US president Donald Trump’s formal recognition last week of Jerusalem as the middle eastern state’s capital could result in the Giro d’Italia abandoning its planned visit to the country next year, with the race beginning instead in Italy.
Trump’s decision has been condemned by political and religious leaders around the world, with the US being the first country to accord Jerusalem the status of Israel’s capital since the state was founded in 1948.
The US president’s announcement sparked a wave of unrest in Jerusalem and beyond, with the leaders of Palestinian groups Hamas and Hezbollah calling for an intifada, or uprising, in protest at the decision. Several people have been killed by Israeli security forces during the unrest.
The opening three days of the 101st edition of the Giro d’Italia are due to be held in Jerusalem in May, starting with an individual time trial in Jerusalem, on Friday 4 May.
That will be followed by two road stages, the first from Haifa to Tel Aviv, the second from Be’er Sheva to Eilat, before the race recommences on Sicily following a rest day for the transfer, with Stage 4 departing from Catania on Tuesday 8 May.
But press reports in Italy suggest that contingency plans are in place for the race to start there instead and avoid Israel altogether.
One option being reported is for Catania to host the start of the race, with additional stages added elsewhere in Italy to bring the race up to three weeks. However, given that the dates of the 18 Italian stages have already been set, that could prove to be an administrative and logistical headache.
An alternative is for the first three days of the race to be held either in Puglia, on Italy’s southern Adriatic coast, or on the island of Sardinia, which hosted last year’s Big Start, and for the race to then head to Catania as currently scheduled.
Giro d’Italia organisers RCS Sport have been urged by human rights organisations to move the start of next year’s race, which is scheduled to spend the opening three days in Israel, away from the country.
> Human rights groups urge Giro d'Italia to ditch plans for Israeli Big Start
After the presentation in Milan last month of the full route of the 2018 edition of the race, they also faced calls within Israel for the Big Start to be scrapped because the opening time trial was described as starting in “West Jerusalem” rather than “Jerusalem.”
East Jerusalem, occupied since 1967 by Israel, is viewed by Palestinians and the wider Arab world is the future capital of a Palestinian state.
Israel’s occupation of the eastern part of the city has never been recognised by the international community, and most countries that have diplomatic ties with Israel maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv – although Trump has said that the US plans to move its embassy to Jerusalem.
RCS Sport is determined to keep the Big Start in Israel, with race director Mauro Vegni saying that any decision to move it would only be taken as a “last resort.”
However, with less than five months until the race is due to start, the clock is ticking, and the longer the current unrest continues, the greater the pressure will be on the organisers to review their plans – not least on security grounds, with the Giro d’Italia set to be the biggest sporting event Israel has ever hosted, and therefore a high-profile potential terrorist target.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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25 comments
One has to be almost devoid of good morals to think Israel is doing right in any respect, so to even consider having the giro there, well the decision makers are completely devoid of sense. My bet is they are amoebas that have been lobotomised. A horrible country doing horrible things to people. It's actually still Palestine, regardless of what Mr retardo from the US says, or what Israel likes to believe. Jeez, what a sorry state of affairs.
Unfortunately, there's quite a bit of sense as to the why, and it's the typical answer of $$$$$.
The State of Israel is very heftily bankrolled by the US, and
would kill for,are dying for,could probably do with some positive publicity. Just look to China, Russia, Qatar, Brazil etc for how paying unbelieveable sums of money can get you major international sporting events in spite of shady Health and Safety / Human Rights records.This is a joke - why is everyone so hysterical about upsetting a bunch of terrorist organisations?. It is the capital of Isreal - fact. Deal with it.
Let it start there as planned. We shouldn't cave-in to all those terrorist threats. Cycling should be about the cycling, not politics. I'm sure all the residents of Isreal will enjoy watching a bike race!.
Fact? Which fact? Show us that FACT.
Learn history. Train your brain, not just your legs.
It is the capital of Israel. Google it if you don’t believe me. Their parliament is based there, their branches of government are based there - their political leader is based there.
You do know what a fact is right?.
Take your own advise buddy.
Yeah, according to Trump's self-claim.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positions_on_Jerusalem
Oh, hi, The Donald
I didn't realise you read this site
Learn some history and maybe some current affairs and dare I say it, regional politics before posting. Just an idea.
...also spelling, I'm sure all the residents of Israel will enjoy seeing you spell the name of their country correctly.
Bring it to Britain!
Would they really plan it in Israel and not have a contingency plan?
Great move by Trump; now he can bring back the Tour de Trump.
Does this mean cycling is the last area of human activity that Trump has ceased to have been a (tiny) positive contributor towards (he sponsored the premier pro cycling race in the US for two whole years, after all) and is now a net negative? Or is the world of mail-order meat still his legacy for the benefit of humankind?
Not sure Frogg is a world leader...
And here we have an example of a world leader who thinks nothing of the consequenses of anything they say or do. Buffoonary at it's grandest.
Well arguably it's the Tour of Britain that's an accident waiting to happen...
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/dec/05/nine-terrorist-attacks-p...
If the TofB was targeted by terrorism TV would just edit out for the highlights as though nothing had happened.
Just like they did in Retford when Brent Bookwalter went through the back window of a car.
Or they could start in Londonistan, which is England's capital.
Where?
Lyndyn.
Fuck off.
They could start it in the Vatican, which is the capital of Italy.
Regardless of the politics it was an accident waiting to happen.
Move it. Don't support the Isreali occupation.
Good. Move it!!