Milan (AFP)

"An insult to common sense": the new calendar of the cycling season makes people cringe in Italy, where we judge the Giro sacrificed at the expense of other Grand Tours.

"Rose of anger", headlines the daily Gazzetta dello Sport, the newspaper of the organizing group, on Wednesday, referring to the pink jersey awarded to the leader of the Tour of Italy.

Because according to the WorldTour calendar of the first division of world cycling unveiled Tuesday, upset due to the pandemic of Covid-19, the Giro, reprogrammed from October 3 to 25, now straddles three classics and the Tour of Spain, which must s launch on October 20, six days before the Giro's arrival in Milan.

"Many races and little space: the Giro loses," also judges the Italian daily La Repubblica.

Worse, the calendar does not even leave two weeks of respite for riders who would like to compete in the Tour of Italy after the Tour de France (August 29-September 20). Hence the real risk of a reduced Giro, deprived of many stars of the peloton who would choose to skip the Italian test.

Among the big names who will have to make a choice, Peter Sagan. The Slovak sprinter had announced his participation, for the first time, in the Giro. But honoring his promise would mean skipping the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, two Monuments that he particularly likes.

"How can the Paris-Roubaix and the sixth stage of the Vuelta be scheduled on the day when the Giro will award the pink jersey in front of the cathedral of Milan?" Is indignant in a ticket to the vitriol Pier Bergonzi in the Gazzetta dello Sport .

It is "an insult to common sense and the century-old history of cycling", judges the newspaper which founded the race in 1909 and remains associated with its organization.

- "Masochism" -

"An overlap with the Vuelta was inevitable, given the few dates available and the quantity of races to be rescheduled," defended Renato di Rocco, president of the Italian cycling federation.

The calendar has "guaranteed the three weeks of the Giro", prefers to highlight Mr. di Rocco, also vice-president of the International Cycling Union (UCI).

But the Gazzetta judges that Italy has let the pawn be beaten by France, notably for lack of political support.

The most prestigious of the Grand Tours will only compete with two Canadian races (if they take place), the GPs of Quebec and Montreal ... and with an Italian race, Tirreno-Adriatico.

"The Tour obtained absolute primacy, thanks to real political support from France (while) neither our Minister of Sports nor the Italian cycling federation could prevent three classics and the third big stage race from competing to our race ", writes Pier Bergonzi.

He calls on French UCI President David Lappartient to present "his apologies to the Tour of Italy, to the history of cycling and to millions of fans who will never understand the logic of certain choices that border on masochism."

On the contrary, Corriere della Sera is pleased that Italy has been able to keep all of its races, unlike Spain which loses three or Switzerland which loses two.

The Strade Bianche should mark the resumption of the cycling season on August 1, quickly followed by the first Monument, Milan-Sanremo, on the 8.

And the Boot will also host the latest classic, the Tour of Lombardy, on October 31.

Tuesday, the organizing company RCS had recognized that "some sacrifices had to be made given the short time" to include all the races.

"We have made a number of alternative proposals which, in our opinion, would have reduced the overlap. These proposals were not adopted," she said. "However, we think this result is important for the restart, especially at this time."

© 2020 AFP