Race director Mauro Vegni joins in the celebrations(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Giro d'Italia race director Mauro Vegni doesn't look very happy(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) talks with race director Mauro Vegni on the start line(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Eusebio Unzué and Mauro Vegni celebrate Quintana's win(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mauro Vegni the center of controversy after stage 16(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Giro d'Italia race director Mauro Vegni was rightly proud of this year's race at the conclusion in Milan on Sunday, hinting the 2016 Giro d'Italia will visit more of the south of the country. The full route will be revealed on October 5 after the end-of-season Il Lombardia Classic but news of the start location is expected in June. Following the success of the Grande Partenza in Northern Ireland and Ireland last year, the 2016 race is likely to start outside of Italy, perhaps in Austria, Berlin or Poland.
"I'm very happy with how the Giro ended. Even on the last stage in Milan things ended differently than expected. That proves that even if you design a route, it is always the riders who decide the outcome of the race," Vegni said, refuting suggestions that the stage 14 59.4km time trial had ruined Fabio Aru's chances of victory.
"I usually listen to my critics, especially if they're constructive. But I'd design the Giro exactly the same if I had a second chance. I think the times in the overall classification are fair and as expected. The time trial was important for Aru but I'd suggest the Verbania stage saw him lose more in terms if minutes and morale.
"We designed the route with all our staff, with people who have raced the Giro d'Italia. We think the 60km time trial was balanced."
Vegni defended his decision to give the CCC Sprandi, Bardiani-CSF, Androni Sidermec and Southeast teams wildcard invitations even if they struggled to break through the dominance of Astana and Tinkoff-Saxo. He was critical of some of the WorldTour teams who made little impact during the three weeks.
"It's our philosophy to help young Italian riders develop and give them a chance to ride alongside some of the biggest stars in the peloton, not every one is like Aru and rides for a major team," he said, also talking about rider safety after several accidents with spectators and serious crashes.
"If you look at the classification, you'll see that if several WorldTour teams hadn't started, then nobody would have noticed. Having 20 riders less in the peloton would help safety but it has to be a shared idea and confirmed by the international federation. The problem is that I'd always choose Italians (wildcard) teams and the French will also choose French teams."
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Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
