The Garda time trial Giro d’Italia 2024 could change path. Some organizational problems have arisen for the time trial scheduled for the 14th stage of the Corsa Rosa, the Castiglione delle Stiviere – Desenzano. The route of the time trial included, at kilometer 19, the passage through the Brescia municipality of Pozzolengo. Paolo Bellini, first citizen of the town of around 3500 inhabitants, however, he denied the transit of the Giro d’Italia on the roads of the municipal territory. The news, which immediately mobilized the organizers of the Corsa Rosa, has been circulating for several hours in various local and national newspapers. “No one asked me for anything – the words of Mayor Bellini reported by Republic – As far as I’m concerned, the Giro d’Italia won’t happen here”.
The reasons for the mayor’s no to the passage of the May 18 stage lie in the lack of involvement of the municipality and also in the difficulty in guaranteeing the safe closure of one of the main arteries of the small Brescia town. “My refusal will not stop the Giro, but for months there has been talk of its passage through the Pozzolengo area and our administration has never been consulted – instead reports the Corriere della Sera – Now a communication has arrived from the organization asking me to close the main road of the town for the entire day of May 18th and to guarantee safety at the intersections. But I don’t even have enough staff to do it.”
RCS SportsHowever, the organizers of the Giro d’Italia did not lose heart and immediately moved to find a solution to this problem. Pietro Avanzi, sports councilor of Desenzano, the arrival city of the 14th stage, offered his help: “If there are logistical problems, from the lack of barriers to secure the passages, to the urban police personnel, just sit down around a table and a solution is found, maybe we’ll lend it to them – says Avanzi in an interview with Brescia newspaper – For nothing in the world we will give up this great showcase offered by the Giro d’Italia”.
The organizers are also considering an alternative route to the 31 kilometers already presented in recent months, which however does not involve the transit of the 176 runners competing from the Pozzolengo area. According to this hypothesis, again reported by the Brescia newspaper, the race after passing through Solferino would deviate towards the hamlet Vaccarolo of Desenzano, thus including a passage right under the Tower of San Martino, rather than to the side as happens in the original route. In this way the stage mileage would not undergo too significant changes and the nature of the time trial would remain at least unchanged.
Another hypothesis, put forward by Gazzetta di Mantua, however, sees a significant difference in the new version of the time trial which is being examined by the organisers. According to the Lombard newspaper, in fact, to avoid the rebel municipality one would pass through Madonna della Scoperta, head towards Vaccarola and only then to Torre di San Martino, before returning to the route with the San Martino intermediate time. A deviation that would ultimately see the stage measure approximately 12 kilometers longer than initially planned. And when it comes to a time trial there are certainly not a few…
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