Belfast Big Start

Friday May 9 to Sunday May 11

All eyes will be on the Emerald Isle when the 97th Giro d’Italia rolls out of Belfast on Friday May 9 for the first of three days in Ireland.

It will be the first time the Giro has visited Ireland, and only the 11th time it has started outside of Italy.

WorldTour superstars including Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) and Richie Porte (Team Sky) will all be on the start line, bidding for a successful start to their bids for the maglia rosa.

Kicking off with a 21.7km team time trial in the Northern Irish capital, starting from Titanic Belfast, Team Sky will be keen to repeat their success in stage two of last year’s Giro while world champions Omega Pharma-Quickstep have been putting in the hours over the winter in preparation for their challenges against the clock.

The following day sees racing begin in earnest, with a 218km flat stage starting and ending in the Irish capital as the sprinters look to score some early points in the race for the maglia rosso.

Ireland’s final day in the spotlight then sees a 187km stage from Armagh to Dublin before the peloton heads to Italy.

While the Giro has never been to Ireland, Dublin hosted the start of the 1998 Tour de France, which saw British legend Chris Boardman win the prologue and retain the yellow jersey the following day too.

Home interest this year will definitely include Ireland’s Nicolas Roche, who is keen to follow in the footsteps of his Triple Crown winning father Stephen who, of course, won in 1987.

Mark Cavendish could also be present in Belfast with two flat stages on offer, but he is unlikely to attempt to defend his maglia rosso with the Tour de France Grand Depart his greatest priority.