Wednesday 30 July 2014 10:59, UK
The 2015 Giro d'Italia will start with three stages in Liguria, the first of which will be a team time trial.
The 18km opening stage will be partly run away from regular roads, the course taking the teams down a cycle path along the coast and finishing in the legendary cycling city of San Remo.
It will be held on the Riviera dei Fiori path, built on a former coastal rail track between start town San Lorenzo al Mare and San Remo, which hosts the finish of the Milan-San Remo Classic every year.
The stage starts near the foot of the famous Cipressa climb, but it will not include the Poggio, which often proves the key point of Milan-San Remo.
Stage two will be one for the sprinters, finishing on four 7.5km circuits in Genoa, and the third might give the general classification riders their first chance to shine, ending above the town of La Spezia on the short but sharp Bassia climb.
Next year's race will begin on May 9 and end on May 31, but the rest of the programme is yet to be confirmed.
Tour de France winner Vincenzo Nibali could prove to be the star turn, hinting that he would like to return to the race he won in 2013 and try to dethrone this season's winner, Nairo Quintana.
"The Giro d'Italia is very important for me and I would like to send my regards to everyone." Nibali said. "I have a very special bond with the Giro because it's the race that launched me on to the Grand Tour scene. I can say I wish to come back in 2015."
