The 98th Giro d’Italia, organized by RCS Sport/La Gazzetta dello Sport, begins on Saturday, 9 May and lasts until 31 May, 2015.
The philosophy behind the race route is balance, in line with recent years, with fewer transfers and an approach geared up for modern cycling. In summary: 1 team time trial, 1 individual time trial, 5 high mountain stages, 7 flatter stages and 7 medium mountain stages. Tthe 2015 Giro starts near Sanremo in Riviera dei Fiori (Liguria) and finishes in Milan.
THE 98TH GIRO D’ITALIA IN NUMBERS
1 – National border crossing (Switzerland)
2 – Rest Days (Monday 18 May, Monday 25 May)
4 – Giro race starts in Liguria (Genoa 1980, 1992, 2004; Sanremo 1987)
5 – Mountain stages (Fiuggi-Campitello Matese, Marostica-Madonna di Campiglio, Pinzolo-Aprica, Gravellona Toce-Cervinia, Saint Vincent-Sestriere)
7 – Sprint stages (Albenga-Genova, Montecatini Terme-Castiglione della Pescaia, Grosseto-Fiuggi, Civitanova Marche-Forlì, Montecchio Maggiore-Jesolo, Tirano-Lugano, Turin-Milan);
7 – Medium mountain stages (Rapallo-Sestri Levante, Chiavari-La Spezia, La Spezia-Abetone, Benevento-San Giorgio del Sannio, Forlì-Imola (Enzo & Dino Ferrari Autodrome), Imola-Vicenza (Monte Berico), Melide-Verbania)
7 – Uphill finishes (Abetone, Campitello Matese, Vicenza (Monte Berico), Madonna di Campiglio, Aprica, Cervinia, Sestriere)
29 – Overall Giro d’Italia wins by non-Italians
68 – Overall Giro d’Italia wins by Italians
76.8 – Kilometres of time trials (17.6 km “Riviera dei Fiori” team time trial, 59,2 individual time trial Treviso - Valdobbiadene)
136 – Length of the two shortest road stages in kilometers (Rapallo-Sestri Levante, Tirano-Lugano)
152 – Kilometers in the stage dedicated to Gino Bartali, La Spezia – Abetone
263 – Kilometers in the longest stage (Grosseto – Fiuggi)
1,854 – the altitude, in meters, of the Mortirolo, the Montagna Pantani in the 2015 Giro
2,178 – the altitude, in meters, of the Colle delle Finestre, the Cima Coppi in the 2015 Giro
3,481.8 - the total length of the Giro, in kilometers
43,000 – vertical meters climbed during the 2015 Giro
TELEVISION COVERAGE
The Giro will be televised around the world in 171 countries.
Italy
Long-standing host broadcaster Rai (Radio Televisione Italiana) will dedicate many hours of airtime to the Giro d’Italia, starting with three hours of live programming for every stage.
Rai’s live coverage will be in three parts: “Anteprima Giro” on RaiSport Uno from 14:00 to 15:10 CEST, “Giro in Diretta” on RaiTre and Rai HD between 15:10 and 16:15, and, for the final hour of racing, “Giro all’arrivo” until 17:10. Post-stage commentary and analysis follows in the traditional “Processo alla Tappa,” finishing at 18:00.
90 minutes of edited highlights from each stage will be shown at 22:45 on RaiSport Due, at 06:00 hours the following morning on RaiSport Uno and again at 08:00 on RaiSport Due.
Most days, Rai’s coverage of the forthcoming stage will start with “Giro Mattina”, an hour and a half of live programming from the start village which includes a feature portraying the places of touristic and cultural interest along the race route of the day, and the stage start.
Finally, RaiSport Uno will end the day with two programmes: “TGiro” at 20:00 and “Giro Notte” at 00:30 hours.
In addition, the Corsa Rosa will be streamed live via the internet at www.rai.tv.
Worldwide
The Giro d’Italia will be shown live in 52 territories throughout Europe, Italy included, starting at 14.15 (all times CEST), with live links, on-site interviews and race commentary in 19 languages. In the Old World, the race will also be shown subscription-free in Belgium on the Flemish language channel VRT, in Denmark on TV2, in Spain on TVE, in Switzerland via SRG SSR, in the Netherlands on NOS.
Televisa Deportes Network will show the Giro d’Italia in Mexico and five other Central American nations. ESPN Sur will serve Spanish-speaking South America, working in tandem with its sister channel ESPN Brasil. Canada will be served in English by Sportsnet and in French by RDS.
beIN SPORTS has exclusive TV rights to the Giro d’Italia in France, the United States of America, and the Middle East and North Africa, with SuperSport serving fans in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In Asia, Eurosport Asia-Pacific will broadcast the Giro d’Italia in 16 territories. J Sports will serve Japan, LeTV will cover the Corsa Rosa in China, while SonyTV will show race highlights in India and seven other nations. TrueVisions will show the race in Thailand and FPT Telecom will do the same in Vietnam.
The Australian public service broadcaster SBS will broadcast all 21 stages live. Fox Sports will show highlights in Australia, while Sky New Zealand will broadcast the race live for viewers on the other side of the Tasman Sea.
News footage of the Corsa Rosa will be distributed by SNTV (Sports News Television) and Sport24, the 24-hour sports channel for aircraft and cruise ship passengers.
ON-BIKE FOOTAGE AT THIS YEAR'S GIRO
RCS Sport and the Velon group of WorldTour teams today announced an agreement according to which Velon will deliver on-bike footage at this year's Giro d’Italia.
Footage will be recorded for RCS Sport in eight of the Giro d’Italia’s 21 stages: the team time trial on stage 1, stage 2, a possible sprint finish, the hill stages 4, 9, 12, and 15, and the mountain stages 16 - the Queen Stage, with the forbidding Mortirolo - and 20, with the spectacular Colle delle Finestre.
Velon consists of roughly two thirds of the 17 WorldTour teams. All 11 member teams will be at the Giro d’Italia: BMC Racing Team, Etixx - Quick-Step, Lampre - Merida, Lotto Soudal, Orica GreenEDGE, Team Cannondale - Garmin, Team Giant - Alpecin, Team Lotto NL - Jumbo, Team Sky, Tinkoff - Saxo and Trek Factory Racing.
The teams carrying cameras on each stage will be announced throughout the race.
The agreement allows on-board camera footage to be shown during Giro d'Italia TV coverage and on the event website, digital media sites and social media profiles. The Velon teams may show race highlights on their websites and digital media channels, with images also appearing on the organisation website velon.cc.
RCS Sport's Giro d’Italia Director, Mauro Vegni, said: “It has always been important for us to bring fans close to the action and new technologies are making it possible to bring them into the peloton and show the Giro d’Italia, the hardest race in the world's most beautiful place, in a whole new perspective to fans all around the world.”
Graham Bartlett, CEO of Velon said: “RCS Sport have really got behind this project and we’re delighted to work with them on such an important race. The eight stages chosen will give a great insight into what it takes to win both stages and jerseys in a Grand Tour and we can’t wait to see the results.”
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