Expo Dubai to host 1st Giro d'Italia event outside Europe

(ANSA) - ROME, OCT 27 - Expo Dubai 2020 is to host the first event of the classic round-Italy stage race the Giro d'Italia to ever take place outside Europe.
    The Giro is the world's second greatest stage race after the Tour de France.
    On November the Giro d'Italia Criterium Dubai will take place, a fully fledged cycling competition, as a time trial separate from the Giro, inside the Expo area.
    It will be a unique event, 30 fast 2.1km laps for a total of just over 60km, featuring top riders like Geoffrey Bouchard, Peter Sagan, Egan Bernal, Filippo Ganna and Elia Viviani.
    All seats at the Padiglione Italia have been taken, and the congress will be full of the heads of the Dubai Sports Council.
    Padiglione Italia Commissioner Paolo Glisenti said the event was "exceptional" both for the Expo and for the Giro too.
    "Cycling brings people together, cycling is beauty, that's why we are bringing it to Expo, following the claim of our participation in the Universal Exposition. Furthermore, the Giro d'Italia symbolically represents exploration, knowledge and the link between populations, that's what the Giro d'Italia has always been: it has a cultural, social, and economic meaning, as well as a sporting one".
    The chief development and delivery officer of Expo Dubai, Ahmed AlKhatib, stressed that the Giro d'Italia was one of the top features of the 'Made in Italy' system.
    He said the Dubai officials had learned a lot from Italy, starting from Expo 2015 di Milano, in order to create the first Expo in Middle East.
    "Every day we learn from the experiences of others and we try to bring the best of the world to Expo," says AlKhatib.
    "That's why we are proud to host the Giro d'Italia in Dubai in this format, which will be among the most attractive events at this Expo". (ANSA).