The days preceding the start of the Giro d’Italia cycling are those with the highest fibrillation and intensity, and this is the case again this year, and this morning the press conference presenting the Rai programming for the ‘pink race’ confirmed this.
The route: from Bulgaria to the finish line in Rome
The Giro will start on Friday 8th from Bulgaria, which will host three stages, then the pink race will travel along the Italian roads, starting from Calabria, with the Catanzaro-Cosenza stage on Tuesday 12th May and the departure from Paria a Mare on Wednesday 13th May up to Policoro, and then towards the center and the north, and finally on 31st May the final stage once again in Rome. In 21 stages, 3468 kilometers will be covered, with an average/stage of 165 km. The total difference in altitude will be almost 49 thousand metres; seven uphill finishes; a time trial stage; an ‘incursion’ into Switzerland with the stage on Monday 26th from Bellinzona to Cari.
Rai’s mission: a cultural narrative of the country
This year’s Rai commitment is that of narrating the country, and it will be a “cultural narrative”, as said by the director of Rai Sport, Marco Lollobrigida (recently appointed to the role and at his first press conference as director of a Rai channel). A narrative «not only of the athlete’s gesture, but also of the context. The Giro has always had the characteristic of telling the story of a beautiful country like Italy” and this year’s edition, the 109th, “allows this more than any other sport”. Lollobrigida spoke of ‘storytelling rules’, that is, «telling the Giro, telling the story of society, the Italy that is changing, and it will be done with a well-knit team. Thanks to the directors of the various Rai channels involved it will be possible to ensure a very accurate story.”
The role of the Radio and new digital contents
The director of the Giornale Radio and Radio1 Rai, Nicola Rao, recalled that the radio story of the Giro turns 94 this year, the first time was in 1932 with the final stage of that edition. The Radio1 schedule has been redesigned, there will be ‘windows’ and flashes on the current stage every day and, obviously, live news of the arrival. “The history of the Giro intersects with that of the country – added Rao – and we will tell it”. He also announced that there will be a podcast on the history of the pink race.
The synergy between RCS Sport and public service
The theme of the story was also at the center of the speech, via video link, by Paolo Bellino, CEO of Rcs Sport: «The Giro told the story of great undertakings, the transformation of the country. We all have a great responsibility, that of reporting these events in the best possible way. This year we start from Bulgaria, from the Black Sea, from a country that has never had major sporting events, and then we return to Italy, starting from Calabria and finishing on May 31st at the finish line in Rome. I hope it will be another great Giro d’Italia.” From a technical point of view, «we have a very interesting lineup of athletes, also made up of Italian cyclists who could represent great surprises». Bellino added that «without Rai and without the Gazzetta dello Sport the Giro would not be what it is. I hope for large numbers. Another beautiful story of the Giro and of the relationship with RCS Sport begins on Friday 8th.”
TV programming and journalistic insights
In turn, Marcello Ciannamea, director of Rai Distribuzione, underlined that the Giro “fits very well in the Rai schedule”, and will be 170 hours of TV in total, to which will then be added the women’s Giro d’Italia. A schedule that “will tell the story of the people, the territory, the emotions”, a story that will start from the early morning of the days in which the stages of the race will take place. And the director of Tg2, Antonio Preziosi, reiterated this, reporting that each edition of the news will report «all the exploits of the Giro. We will also talk about Italy, in the morning slot in the Tg2 Italia Europa space”. Preziosi has announced a Tg2 Dossier dedicated to the Giro, and also a special episode of Tg2 Post entirely dedicated to the history of the pink race.
The team of commentators and experts
Also speaking at the press conference were Giuseppe Pasciucco, director of Rai Sports Rights; Nico Forletta, managing editor of Rai Radio1 Sport; Alessandro Fabretti, central editor of Rai Sport and team leader of the Giro, and in his 33rd pink race as a journalist; Giada Borgato, Giro commentator; Giovanni Scaramuzzino, correspondent and sports presenter for Gr Rai and Radio1 Sport, and Davide Cassani, former cyclist and coach of the Italian national team, and for several years a technical commentator for Rai and who this year is in his 35th Giro d’Italia, 12 of which he tackled on the bike, as a runner in the race.