Reports have emerged that the Giro d'Italia could start in Australia as soon as 2027, in what would be the furthest-flung start for a Grand Tour ever, as foreign departs become more and more ambitious.
After this year's start in Albania, talks of where the Giro could be heading next have already been going on, but the possibility of a visit to Australia was first revealed three days ago by Australian cycling broadcaster Michael Tomalaris.
As picked up by Escape Collective and Sporza in recent days, Tomalaris wrote on Instagram that "officials from state governments have held high level discussions with the view of bringing the opening three stages of Italy’s Grand Tour to Australia in May, 2027."
"This is not a joke. It’s not a rumour. It’s for real," his post continued. "When it happens, it will be big news in world sport, let alone world cycling."
As Escape Collective reports, Tomalaris went on to discuss the topic more on The Domestiques podcast, saying he had "seen the paperwork" pertaining to a possible bid.
Indeed, a start in Australia would be huge news. The Giro has already hosted some adventurous Grande Partenze in recent years, including a visit to Israel in 2018, and a visit to the Middle East has seemed a likelihood in the near future, but a start in a different hemisphere would be a big logistical challenge.
Perth in Western Australia is six hours ahead of Rome, and Sydney is eight hours ahead, with flights in the region of 16 hours to get back to Italy from Rome. The issues of long travel, jet lag, and different time zones for the television audience all put question marks over the viability of a start in Australia.
Perth, home of Jai Hindley, Michael Storer and a big cycling community, would be a natural geographical choice, but the eastern cities – themselves a five-hour flight away from the WA capital – may also be interested.
"I think the most logical place would be Perth in Western Australia because that's the closest to Europe," Tomalaris suggested to Sporza.
"But Melbourne and Sydney would also be interested. Those regions are always looking for big events."
As with the return to Italy from Albania, a start in Australia, even in the west, would require a travel day, likely two, and a huge operation to get bikes and equipment back. Another possibility could be a stop-off stage in the Middle East – a frequent stopover region for flights between Europe and Australia, and already home to the RCS-owned UAE Tours.
Currently, the WorldTour does visit Australia for a block of racing in January, headlined by the Tour Down Under and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. The Tour Down Under pays for teams' travel, hosts journalists, and provides vehicles for teams.
Quizzed by Sporza about whether an Australian start was actually on the cards, Giro organisers RCS far from denied the possibility.
"We don't rule anything out," race director Mauro Vegni told Sporza. "It's difficult from a practical and logistical point of view, but we don't say no to anyone in advance.
"Everything is possible, but you have to study the interest well, and you also have to find out what the UCI's position is. Moreover, we do not yet know how the calendar will be reformed soon and what the rules will be."
The Italian confirmed that there was "certainly interest" from authorities in Australia, and emphasised that RCS are keen to host discussions with all nations and cities hoping to welcome the race.
Apart from whether RCS, the UCI and the Australian government could make the event work, there is the question of whether riders and teams would be supportive of such a far-away start.
Whilst riders and teams do make the trip to Australia in January, with significant financial input from the race organisers, most Australian pros do not even travel home during the year to visit family, such is the imposition of the long journey.
So what do the riders think? We'll have more reaction from on the ground at the Giro soon, but Luke Plapp, commenting on Tomalaris' initial post, summed up his thoughts succinctly.
"Genuinely impossible," the Melbourne native wrote.
Of course, it isn't down to the riders and teams to decide, but if there's serious pushback from those who expected to not only make the journey, but also perform well and make the race interesting, the hopes of an Australian Grande Partenza could hit a wall before they've even got going.
