Giro d'Italia 2022 Starts from Hungary

The 105th Giro d'Italia cycling race set off from Heroes' Square in Budapest on Friday at noon. This is the first time that Hungary has become one of the foreign venues.

The Giro d'Italia, first held in 1909, is one of the greatest cycling races in the world. This is the 13th time that the competitors are racing outside of Italy as well - mainly for business reasons.

The start of the race in this country is expected to cost Hungarian taxpayers over EUR 20 million. The justification given for spending this much money is that it will pay off later as the presentation of the country will attract more tourists. However, experts agree that it is not easy to quantify the benefits.

In the opening stage of the event, 176 bikers from 22 teams covered 195 kilometers, with the finish in Visegrad in the late afternoon at the end of the stage, which included a 900-meter climb.

On Saturday, there will be a time trial in Budapest and on Sunday a race along Lake Balaton, from where the whole field will be flown to Sicily, where the race will start in Italy.