In recent years, the Giro route has been unveiled in October – often before the presentation of the Tour de France route – but this year's announcement has been delayed while RCS Sport seeks to finalise the course. While the 2018 Giro will begin in Jerusalem on Friday, May 4, it is still not clear whether Milan or Rome will host the final stage.
"It's 97 percent certain that we'll present the Giro on November 29 in Milan in the early afternoon," Vegni told Tuttobici. "What kind of Giro will it be? I'll only say that a very beautiful race will be unveiled, one open to a lot of interpretations. I can't say any more than that."
Vegni also stressed his opposition to the idea of moving Il Lombardia from its traditional October slot to a date in April between Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Giro. The idea was floated in La Gazzetta dello Sport on Saturday, but dismissed that afternoon by Vegni when he spoke to Cyclingnews. He reiterated that stance to Tuttobici, saying that riders who choose to end their seasons early and miss Il Lombardia are the ones losing out.
"As far as I'm concerned, Il Lombardia is not to be touched," Vegni said. "I respect everybody's opinions and I appreciate anyone who contributes new ideas to grow cycling, but in this case, I'm not in agreement with the proposal. Moving Il Lombardia directly after Liege would be like leaving it to die. Our race has 111 years of history. If there is a problem, it's for the riders who don't have it on their palmarès, not vice-versa."
Katusha names team for Tour of Guangxi
Katusha has named its team for the final WorldTour event of the season, the inaugural Tour of Guangxi. With Rein Taaramae and Rick Zabel, the team has sent a line-up to cover both the overall classification and the sprints.
Completing the seven-man team are Marco Haller, Pavel Kochetkov, Marco Mathis, Michael Morkov and Angel Vicioso.
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The Tour de Guangxi will be Taaramae's final race for the Katusha-Alpecin team as he is set to move to Direct Energie for 2018. He has had a disappointing season with third at the Estonian national championships the highlight of his year. He rode for Ilnur Zakarin at the Vuelta a Espana last month, with the Russian taking third overall.
Zabel has spent most of this season supporting Alexander Kristoff. He rode his first Tour de France in July and finished second to his Norwegian teammate at Eschborn Frankfurt in May.
Katusha-Alpecin for Tour of Guangxi: Marco Haller, Pavel Kochetkov, Marco Mathis, Michael Morkov, Rein Taaramae, Angel Vicioso, Rick Zabel.
Axeon Hagens Berman adds Zeke Mostov for 2018
The Axeon Hagens Berman development team announced this week it has signed Zeke Mostov for the 2018 season. Mostov, 21, rode with the Aevolo team this season.
"Joining Hagens Berman Axeon represents a widening of racing opportunities to show my ability through both individual and team results and execution," Mostov said, referring to the team by its 2018 configuration.
Mostov, who won won a bronze medal at the 2013 junior World Championships time trial, had an impressive year in 2017, winning the Porsche Thunderbird Race, placing second in the mountains classification at the Tour of Alberta, and placing third in the youth classification at the Cascade Cycling Classic.
The California native is also a student at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. Mostov joins previously announced Hagens Berman Axeon newcomers Maikel Zijlaard and Cole Davis on the 2018 squad.
