Giro d’Italia prepares 'Plan-B' Italian start

RCS Sport have an ‘all-Italian’ back up plan if trouble in Israel escalates ahead of the 101st edition of the race

After US President, Donald Trump, claimed Jerusalem was the capital of Israel things have started to escalate in the Middle East, just before for the start of the 101st edition of the Giro d’Italia.

With tensions on the rise in the contested city of Jerusalem, Giro d'Italia organisers could be forced into moving the start of the 2018 Giro d'Italia back to Italy.

Increased civil unrest and violence within Jerusalem would make hosting a sporting event impossible. With increasing violence this past week ahead of next May, RCS, race organisers of the Giro d'Italia, would have no choice but to move the start of the race.

Talking to Italian sports newspaper, La Gazzetta Dello Sport, RCS Sport’s cycling director Mauro Vengni says they are putting together a plan that will enable the race to follow suit from last year’s edition and start in the south of Italy.

“I already have a plan B, all-Italian, but it will have to truly be a last-ditch scenario,” Vegni told reporters.

“Anyway, keep in mind that our foreign minister is following the big start plans at every pass. I have the possibility of inserting in the Giro route, between the south and central Italy, three stages to replace those Israeli stages. But, I’ll repeat, this would be a true extreme solution, which I don’t really want to think about.”

Palan B will be a welcome back up for for teams, their staff and riders after news broke last Friday that three rockets had been fired into Israel from the Gaza strip with Israeli military firing back resulting in four deaths.

RCS Sport angered the country’s officials after announcing the start of the race was in “East Jerusalem”, who demanded that they rename the route to recognise it as Jerusalem.