Organizers of the Giro d'Italia have announced that the 2020 event will not be held in May due to the impact and concerns over the pandemic of the coronavirus Covid-19.

A new date for the Italian Grand Tour will be announced after April 3, when the first Italian decree on quarantine measures in Italy ends, in consultation with the Italian government and international sports organizations. The 2020 Giro d'Italia was scheduled to start with an individual time trial in Budapest on Saturday, May 9, followed by two stages in Hungary before flying to Sicily. The remaining stages were to take place in Italy, finishing in Milan on May 31.

Early Friday morning, Hungarian government commissioner Mariusz Levesz announced via a Facebook post (opens in new tab) that the opening stage would not take place, in anticipation of an RCS Sport announcement regarding the entire race.

"Due to the spread of the coronavirus, the Hungarian government has declared a state of emergency. This has resulted in a ban on large scale events and made it impossible to organize international events," explained RCS Sport. 'All parties have agreed to cooperate so that the Giro d'Italia can leave Hungary at a later date. 'RCS Sport is pleased to announce that, in view of the international and national situation, the date of the 2020 Giro d'Italia will be postponed. [The new date is March 4, 2020, D.P.C.M. (Decreto del Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri della Repubblica Italiana - Decree of the President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic) prior to April 3, when the provisions of the Decreto del Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri della Repubblica Italiana - Decree of the President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic will end, to be announced after consultation with the appropriate representatives of the Italian Government, local authorities and Italian and international sporting bodies.

Earlier this week, UCI President David Lapartiento said it would be a "catastrophe" for cycling if the Giro d'Italia (open in new tab) and Tour de France (open in new tab) could not take place due to the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in Europe. . for the sport of cycling."

RCS Sport has already been forced to postpone the Milan-San Remo, Tirreno-Adriatico, Strade Bianche, and Giro di Sicilia (opens in new tab) due to the Covid-19 epidemic in Italy.

Earlier this week, the whole of Italy was put on lockdown, banning all sporting events and public gatherings until at least April 3.

Other European sports have also been severely affected by the spread of the coronavirus, with the soccer championships put on hold, the European Championships to be held in June across Europe, the Tour de France (June 27-July 19), and the late July-August sparked doubts about the Tokyo Olympics.

The cycling calendar could be completely redesigned, with races postponed until later in the year or the last month.

"We also have to understand what UEFA will do about the Euro 2020 soccer tournament," Vegni told Adoncronos News Agency (open in new tab) on Thursday. 'The question of dates for all sports is a huge puzzle that is difficult to solve.'