Organizers of the 2020 Giro Rosa have confirmed that there will be no live broadcast of the race, which will run for nine days from September 11-19. This decision goes against the 45 minutes of live television coverage mandated by the UCI for the Women's World Tour.

Frustration grew on Friday when no live TV or streaming options were offered to cycling fans to watch the season-opening team time trial in Grosseto, won by Trek-Segafredo and the first maglia rosa by Italian Elisa Longo Borghini ...

Professional cycling fans have seen complete live TV packages for the Tour de France, which runs from August 29 to September 20, and Italy's Tirreno Adriatico, which runs from September 7 to 14, but not for the Giro Rosa. Organizers have confirmed that RAI Sport will provide a 10-minute highlights broadcast at 6 p.m. Central European time, followed by a 50-minute post-race broadcast at 7 p.m. Central European time.

The UCI announced last year that organizers wishing to participate in the Women's World Tour must provide a 45-minute live television broadcast in addition to the post-race highlights package and broadcast reel; the UCI mandated this in order to increase race ratings and level of professionalism, and to meet the burgeoning demand of fans to watch top-level women's cycling on a live platform.

The Giro Rosa is a long-lived women's race, celebrating its 31st anniversary this year. In historical context, it is the largest and most prestigious women's race in the world and the only women's Grand Tour of the season that typically includes 10 days of racing and an iconic mountain pass. However, it is also one of the most demanding of the women's World Tour races due to the limited live coverage.

The UCI approved earlier this month for Cycling News to provide 20 minutes of live television coverage for each stage of the Tour de France, instead of the 45 minutes of live television coverage mandated for the Giro Rosa.

In previous years, RAI Sport has provided short live segments of the race during the full Tour de France, followed by a post-race highlights package. in March, Pulse Media Group (PMG Sport) announced that Athletic Sports Group (ASG) and Giro Rosa announced that they had reached an agreement on media rights for the Giro Rosa.

Cyclingnews contacted the race organizers regarding their plans for live television coverage during this year's nine-day race, or their reasons for not offering live television coverage, but received no response prior to the publication of this article ASG told Cyclingnews that the race is a "near live" program and confirmed that it would only be offered as a [An ASG spokesperson said, "The Giro Rosa near-live is available worldwide. This year, it will be available in a one-hour edited program offered directly after the race."

Despite the frustration of the lack of live TV coverage, cycling fans will be offered on social media channels such as the UCI's Women's World Tour main account (@UCI_WWT) and Giro Rosa's (@GiroRosaIccrea) Twitter While reading the live text feeds, I still tuned in.

Flobikes, SBS, Eurosport, and GCN will also provide post-race broadcasts ("as-live" delivery) and additional video content, covering all the action with commentary after each stage.

According to Cycling News, the UCI is trying to get in touch with the organizers to confirm their live coverage plans after the organizers committed to live coverage. It is not yet known if there will be TV coverage of the second half stage of the Giro Rosa. We need to tune in to find out.

The Giro Rosa was originally scheduled to run from June 26 to July 5, but organizers were forced to change the dates to September 11-19, down one stage to nine days, as part of the revised Women's World Tour calendar after COVID-19.

Organizers have revealed details of the route, which will visit the regions of Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio, Campania, and Puglia. The race includes a Strade Bianche-style route on the white gravel roads of Tuscany on Saturday's second stage, with four hilltops: stage 3 in Assisi, stage 4 in Tivoli, stage 8 in San Marco La Cutra, and the finale, stage 9 in Motta Montecorvino The finish line will be at.

Overall, it was a difficult year for Italy, which was severely affected by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in the spring. Race organizer Giuseppe Rivolta said he did not want to give up on the race and promised to hold it before the end of the year.

"Sport in general, and cycling in particular, has always been synonymous with self-sacrifice, dedication to a cause, commitment, suffering, and love. 'The difficult times our society is facing are also being faced because of these values. That is why we did not want to abandon or give up on Giro Rosa. We fought and sacrificed so that the magic of the peloton at the road would be repeated this year, albeit at a different place on the calendar."

For full reports, results, news, features, and galleries from the 2020 Giro Rosa, visit Cycling News' women-only page (opens in new tab).