RCS Sport has been assigned the organisation of the Giro d'Italia Giovani Under 23 beginning in 2023 and the Giro d'Italia Donne beginning in 2024, after the Italian Cycling Federation constructed a carefully devised bid-process that resulted in RCS Sport being the only contender.
The FCI confirmed that RCS Sport would organise the Giro d'Italia Giovani Under 23 for a five-year term between 2023 to 2027 and the Giro d'Italia Donne on a four-year term from 2024 to 2027.
The FCI explained that the bidding process expired on February 1 with only one applicant. The details of the RCS Sport bid and plan for the two Italian stage races will be revealed at a specific press conference.
"We are very happy to have assigned the organization to a subject with proven organizational skills who will be able to set up editions that are up to par and meet the needs of the movement," said President of FCI, Cordiano Dagnoni.
"The big events, such as the Giro U23 and Giro Donne, are fundamental not only from a technical sporting point of view but also for the local authorities involved who benefit from an economic and promotional point of view."
RCS Sport already organises the men's Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-San Remo, Il Lombardia and a number of other smaller races, creating a near monopoly of racing in Italy.
The Giro d'Italia Donne is currently organised by PMG Sport/Starlight, an organization that took over the women's stage race in 2021 and 2022 from long-time organiser Giuseppe Rivolta.
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The Giro d'Italia Donne and Tour de France Femmes. the two biggest races of the year, will both be held in July, before the inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships held in Glasgow. The Giro Donne will be held between June 30-July 9, again during the men's Tour de France, with the Tour de France Femmes coming after the men's race from July 23-30.
There have been complaints about a lack of information on the route, leaving teams unable to plan for their major goals of the season.
"I can confirm that the organization is still PMG Sport/Starlight," a representative of PMG Sport/Starlight told Cyclingnews regarding the 2023 edition.
PMG Sport/Starlight has not announced the route of this year's Giro d'Italia Donne but has confirmed to Cyclingnews that it will end in Sardinia, with the organization discussing the departure from Rome.
The UCI downgraded the 10-day event to the ProSeries in 2021 because the previous organisers did not offer live broadcasting of the race in 2020, which is a requirement to be a part of the Women's WorldTour, along with other organisational problems.
At that time, in 2020, the race was known as the Giro d’Italia Femminile or Giro Rosa and was held in September as part of the late-season revised calendar hit by COVID-19.
Under the improved management of PMG Sport/Starlight, the race returned to the Women's WorldTour in 2022.
It remains one of the most historic races on the women's calendar and the only race available that offers 10 days of racing along with iconic mountain passes such as the Stelvio, Zoncolan, Gavia, and Mortirolo. The race will celebrate its 34th anniversary in 2023.
The most recent winners include defending champion Annemiek van Vleuten who won titles in 2018, 2019 and 2022 and now-retired Anna van der Breggen won the race in 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2021. Other winners include Megan Guarnier, twice Mara Abbott and three-time Marianne Vos.
Leo Hayter (Image credit: Getty Images)
Giro d'Italia Giovani Under 23, now in its 46th edition, is scheduled to run from June 10-17. RCS Sport will take over the organisation of the event from the Extragiro group, made up of Nuova Ciclistica Placci and the Communication Clinic, which organised the race from 2018-2022.
The event has served as an opportunity for young riders to show their strengths among their peers between the ages of 19 and 22 and where team managers scout up-and-coming talent to develop in the WorldTour.
Leo Hayter won last year's overall title while racing for Hagens Berman Axeon and then joined Ineos Grenadiers as a trainee in August, later signing a contract through 2025.
Other winners of the Giro d'Italia Giovani Under 23 in the last five editions that have made their mark on the elite rank include Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates), Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers), Andrés Camilo Ardila (now Burgos-BH), Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers).
The under-23 race started in 1970 and was cancelled in 1987, 2005, 2007-2008, and from 2013-2016.
The Giro d'Italia Donne and Giro d'Italia Giovani Under 23 move under RCS Sport's umbrella of events that also include its marque Giro d'Italia and two Monuments Milan-San Remo and Il Lombardia, along with WorldTour races Tirreno-Adriatico, and Strade Bianche.
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Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
