Mauro Veni, director of the Giro d'Italia, defended his decision to design a "traditional" race route for the 2020 Corsa Rosa, in part with 10 stages over 200 km in length and several long, high mountain finishes, arguing that "high mountain and endurance tests will reveal who the true champion is," he argued.

The Vuelta a España has introduced shorter stages and many steep uphill finishes in recent years, and the Tour de France will follow a similar design in 2020, perhaps to favor aggressive French riders Julien Alaphilippe and Thibaut Pinot shorten the total distance of the time trial.

The short but intense stages of the Vuelta a España have been dubbed "tapas cycling"; the 2020 Tour de France may herald "champagne cycling," but Veni has a more traditional Italian flavor and the Giro d'Italia more like an aged Brunello del Montalcino.

The 2020 Giro d'Italia was announced in Milan in late October with a route of 3,580 km, 110 km longer than the route of the 2020 Tour de France.

The Giro starts in Hungary and heads south into Sicily, climbing the slopes of Mount Etna before heading north along the Adriatic coast, passing the 2758-meter-high Passo dello Stelvio and the 2744-meter-high Colle dell'Agnello before heading west to the Alps and the final mountainous Sestriere finish.

"I respect what other organizers think is right for their race, and I may go against the latest trends, but I think a Grand Tour should include major climbs over 2,000 meters and long stages that span three weeks of racing," Veni told Cycling News.

"The high mountains and tests of endurance will reveal who the true champions are. I think that's the recipe for a great Giro d'Italia."

Michele Acquarone, former head of RCS Sport, helped shake up the Giro d'Italia a decade ago with a mix of tradition and innovation, but he has been unfairly made the scapegoat for massive financial diversions. In recent years, the Giro d'Italia has started in Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Israel, but has always boasted the natural beauty of Italy, climbing the high mountains of the Italian Alps and the Dolomites.

There have been reports that the Grande Partenza could be held in New York, the United Arab Emirates, and even Japan. Although never confirmed, Veni prides itself on being more innovative than its French and Spanish rivals.

"The Giro d'Italia will start for the first time in 2020 in an Eastern European country. Geopolitics aside, it is something we are proud of. [For 2020, it was important to take into account other major events such as the Olympic Games and the World Mountain Championships in Switzerland. This is a balanced route, allowing riders to recover after a hard race. Of course, the Grande Finale is still to come."

Veni and RCS Sport are using the millions of dollars earned from the Grande Partenza outside Italy to attract big-name riders to compete in the Giro d'Italia. Tom Dumoulin has chosen the Giro d'Italia several times, as has Alberto Contador, and Chris Froome rode Corsa Rosa to victory in 2018.

With the Grande Partenza in Budapest so close to the Slovak border, Veni rolled out the iconic pink carpet and convinced Peter Sagan to ride the 2020 Giro d'Italia for the first time in his career.

"It is important for a rider like Peter to take part in the Giro so he can take the first pink in the time trial in Budapest.

"Despite what Peter has achieved in his career, I think the Giro was out of his league. Peter has several road stages and he knows some of them, as he won the Tirreno-Adriatico on the same road. He has a special connection with Italy because he came to Italy when he was young and became the player he is today thanks to an Italian team called Liquigas.

"His start in Hungary is close to his home country of Slovakia.