Stage all set for the Giro!

The 2014 Giro d’Italia, the 97th edition of this historic race, begins tomorrow evening in front of Belfast’s Titanic Quarter in Northern Ireland. As the Grande Partenza approaches, the sense of anticipation is palpable in the Northern Irish capital, which has truly embraced the Corsa Rosa. Belfast has taken the pink colour of the race leader’s Maglia Rosa to heart. By night, the City Hall has been lit up pink. So too has the illuminated halo of the brise soleil  around the race headquarters in the vast, circular Belfast Waterfront building. The local and regional press provide saturation coverage of the race preliminaries.
 
The preparations continued this morning with the publication of the official start list, which confirms the identities of the 198 riders of this year’s peloton, which consists of 22 teams of nine riders. The full official start list for the 97th Giro d’Italia can be downloaded by clicking on the link at the foot of the page.

The Giro will pass through Meath on Sunday as it travels from Armagh to Dublin.
 

Click here for the full entry list of riders: ENTRY LIST