RCS Sport announced that the 2022 Giro d'Italia will start abroad, with Milan-Torino moving to March and taking place between Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo.

While the venue for the Grande Partenza has not yet been announced, RCS Sport has announced that the 2022 Giro will start on Friday, May 6. RCS Sport announced, "The 2022 Corsa Rosa will start on Friday, May 6, with one extra rest day for a total of three days, taking into account that the 105th edition of the Grande Partenza will be held from abroad."

Budapest was originally scheduled to start in 2020, but a coronavirus outbreak forced the race to be postponed and the route changed, making Sicily the starting point instead. While Hungary's Grande Partenza remains a possibility, Slovakia is also working on a start site bid.

Speaking to Cycling News ahead of this year's Giro, race director Mauro Veni explained RCS Sport's plans for an overseas start in the coming years, which had been put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"There were and are plans to start abroad," he said. As for next year, we'll know by October what's going on and whether the vaccine is working." Let's hope so."

The Giro's last overseas start was in 2018, when it began in Israel; in the decade before that, it had also started from the Netherlands, Denmark, and Ireland. [The Tour de France starts in Copenhagen and the Vuelta a España in Utrecht.

RCS Sport has also announced a change in the spring race schedule for 2022, with Milan-Torino being changed to March as it should be, as a prelude to Milan-San Remo.

The spring race series will begin with Strade Bianche on March 5, followed by Tirreno-Adriatico (March 7-13), Milan-Torino (March 16), and Milan-San Remo (March 19). Meanwhile, the Giro di Sicilia will be held April 12-15 and will serve as a warm-up for the Giro d'Italia. Gran Piemonte will take place on October 6, two days before Il Lombardia.

Milano-Torino was first held in 1876, originally in March, but was changed to fall in 1911. After World War II, it returned to March, and in the 1970s it was again held in late fall.

It was last held in March from 2005 to 2007, forcing a four-year hiatus. Since then, it has been held in October, with the exception of 2020, when it was moved to August as part of the revised pandemic calendar and a flat route was used as a warm-up for the Milan-San Remo race.

This year Milan-Torino will be held on Wednesday, followed by Gran Piemonte on Thursday and Il Lombardia on October 9.