The Grande Partenza and the opening three stages of the Giro d'Italia in Hungary scheduled for early May have been cancelled, and the entire Giro d'Italia has been postponed to Italy for the month of May due to the increased risk of a coronavirus pandemic.

Hungarian government commissioner Máriusz Révész announced the news in a Facebook post (opens in new tab), and Italian race organizer RCS Sport has confirmed the news and is expected to confirm the new location of the open stage, or the new Corsa Rosa The Italian race organizer RCS Sport is expected to confirm this news and will endeavor to find a new location for the open stage or a new date for the Corsa Rosa.

The 2020 Giro d'Italia was scheduled to start with an individual time trial in Budapest on Saturday, May 9, followed by a stage from Budapest to Gyor, before flying to Sicily and concluding with a flat stage from Seces Fehervar to Nagykanizsa

Then, the stage to Györ was to be followed by a stage to Györ.

Race organizer RCS Sport subsequently announced that it had decided to postpone this year's entire Giro d'Italia. No new dates will be announced until at least April 3, when the first decree on quarantine measures in Italy will be completed, and only after consultation with the Italian government and the appropriate representatives of international sporting bodies.

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

"Due to the situation regarding the epidemic in Europe, the first three stages of the 2020 Giro, the Grande Partenza, will not be possible," Levesche wrote.

"On March 12, the OC (Organizing Committee) of the Hungarian stage of the Giro informed the Italian partners via video conference that the Giro GP (Grande Partenza) could not take place on the dates originally planned. The parties (HUN OC and Mauro Veni) agreed that both parties would change the contract and the Giro could start in Hungary at a later date.

"Sadly, the epidemic grew with each passing day, the number of infected people and deaths increased, and the Italian government declared a quarantine of the entire country. Meanwhile, the virus has reached Hungary, and in order to control the epidemic, the Hungarian government has declared a state of emergency, banning the holding of sporting events with large crowds and making international events impossible."

RCS Sports has already been forced to postpone the Milan-San Remo, Tirreno-Adriatico, Strade Bianche, and Giro di Sicilia due to the Covid-19 epidemic in Italy. Earlier this week, the entire country of Italy was put on lockdown, with all sporting events and public gatherings banned 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.

"We also have to understand what UEFA will do about the Euro 2020 soccer tournament," Begni told the Adoncronos news agency on Thursday.

"The issue of dates for all sports is a huge puzzle that is difficult to solve."