Everything you need to know about the Giro d'Italia 2018, part 1

(We borrowed this picture from BDS Movement. Hope that's OK!)

Let me start by saying that I will not watch or in any other way follow the Giro d'Italia 2018. Put another way I will boycott it. The reason? The decision of RCS Sport, part of the RCS MediaGroup, to hold the start and the first three stages of Giro d'Italia 2018 in Israel. I think that this decision is wrong, since the state of Israel occupies Palestine since 1967. So there you have it. And if you think that I'm wrong, that the Giro d'Italia should not be boycotted, that what Israel is doing in Palestine is not an occupation or, for that matter, that Palestine should be occupied by Israel, please feel free to leave this blog.

So why did RCS Sport decide to hold the first three stages of Giro d'Italia - literally the Tour of Italy - in Israel? This year is not the first year that they are starting the Giro outside Italy. The first time was in 1965, when they started in San Marino, and since then the Giro have started in Monaco, Belgium, Vatican City, Greece, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, The North of Ireland and Netherlands (a total of 12 times). So this is not the first time the Giro starts outside Italy, but it is the first time the Giro starts outside Europe.

Out of the Grand Tours - Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España - Tour de France has started outside France 22 times and Vuelta a España outside Spain three times. The Tour has started in Netherlands, Belgium, West Germany (in 1965, before the unification of Germany), Netherlands, Belgium, Netherlands, West Germany, Switzerland, West Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Netherlands, Ireland, Luxembourg, Belgium, United Kingdom, Monaco, Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom, Netherlands and Germany, and the Vuelta has started in Portugal, Netherlands and France. So all Grand Tours have started outside their own countries, but none of them have started outside Europe. And none of them have started in a country which occupies another country. (If you don't count United Kingdom (the North of Ireland) and Spain (Basque Country), but I'm not going into that discussion right now.)

Apparently this is quite a big deal for the Giro. The director of Giro d'Italia, Mauro Vegni, has even said that "Israel isn't European and that was the deal breaker". My guess is that the organisation behind the Giro felt that it was important to be the first out of the Grand Tours to start outside Europe, that it was a question of prestige. Most likely there is some competition and prestige between RCS Sport and Amaury Sport Organisation, which runs Tour de France and Vuelta a España (the latter together with Unipublic), and it's easy to see how this could end in a competition to be the first Grand Tour race to start outside Europe. The rumoured 10 million (10.000.000) euro paid by the Israeli state to RCS Sport probably was a deal breaker too...

So what's in it for Israel? Well, prestige too, for one. There have been attempts to start either of the Grand Tour races in Australia and in USA, amongst other, but up until now, as we have seen, the big races have stayed in Europe. Israel is the first non-European nation to host a Big Three race. Secondly it's an opportunity for Israel to do some advertising for the country. Count on there being beautiful scenery along the route, short films showing the sights of Israel followed by imagery showing trendy Isrealis (i e no images of settlers or ultraorthodox hasidics) doing cool stuff in big cities and on the beach, before and after the commercials. To show the viewers that "Hey! Look! We're just like you! Modern and cool!" Thirdly it's what Sylvan Adams calls "Normal Israel".

(We borrowed this picture from Q&A with Sylvan Adams, the billionaire behind Giro d'Italia start in Israel - CyclingTips. Hope that's OK! Photo courtesy Maccabiah Games.)

Who is Sylvan Adams? A billionaire from Canada, who moved to Israel in 2016, and it was largely his work that led to the first three stages of Giro d'Italia being held in Israel. That, and the rumoured 10 million euro.

Sylvan Adams describes Normal Israel as "the regular life which somehow is not an interesting enough story to be told to the rest of the world", a cosmopolitan Israel, of ancient heritage and modern cities, of warm seas and warm people, according to an article in The Guardian. So yes, Sylvan Adams seems like a nice enough guy, there are photos on the internet showing him posing with living lions (and not dead ones) and I suppose it's possible that he really thinks that sports has a healing effect and will lead to peace and happiness. But he is also a billionaire who moved to Israel. Not a 17-year-old Palestinian girl convicted to eight months in prison.

Mauro Vegni has stated that he wants the Giro in Israel to be a sports event and to stay away from any political discussion. But besides the fact that saying that something is non-political is, in fact, very political, it is a very political act to have the start and three stages of the Giro d'Italia in Israel. It completely ignores the fact that Israel has occupied Palestine since 1967.

Also, originally the Giro d'Italia organisation stated that the departure of the race was to be from West Jerusalem. This was something that made Israeli politicians, among them the culture and sport minister Miri Regev, to threaten to withdraw the support for the race. An act which made the Giro d'Italia organisation quickly change the information, now stating that the departure was to be from Jerusalem. How is this not political?

Nairo Quintana will not race the Giro d'Italia 2018. Neither will Vincenzo Nibali or Peter Sagan. And I will not watch or in any other way follow it. I love the Giro d'Italia, I think it's the most exciting, heroic and most beautiful race out of the Grand Tours. But I would love to see a free Palestine even more.

Ride safe!