The stars of the Giro d'Italia of yesteryear gathered on Sunday for a virtual ride to Vieste on the last 37.4 km of stage 9 of the planned route of the 2020 Giro d'Italia.

The Red Cross provides first responders, coronavirus screening, logistical and psychological support during pandemics. The Giro d'Italia Legends event partnered with Rete del Dono, a longtime partner of Giro organizer RCS Sport, to bring together top former professional riders to run a virtual route to raise funds to support the Red Cross.

Mario Cipollini, Gianni Bugno, Francesco Moser, Giuseppe Saronni, Claudio Ciapucci, Davide Cassani, Stefano Garzelli, Maurizio Fondriesto, Alessandro Balan, Andrea Tafi, Michele Bartoli, Daniele Bennati, Stefano Allocchio, Alessandro Bertolini, Riccardo Magrini, Matteo Montaguti, Francesco Chicchi, Mario Scirea, Marco Vero, and Alberto Volpi participated in some capacity.

Cipollini was one of the founders of the event. He told himself that "the cycling community needed to make a strong and tangible contribution to the fight against the coronavirus.

"I spoke with a fellow former professional athlete and together we came up with the idea of organizing a virtual ride, working with La Gazzetta dello Sport and RCS Sport and quickly realized that there was a real opportunity to organize a structured and effective project against this "invisible enemy." . So, the Giro d'Italia Legends were held on Easter Sunday.

"Some of us cycled, some of us sent messages of support through social media. The Italian cycling calendar has gone viral.

Donations will be collected until May 10. Click here to visit the Lete del Dono donation page.