Giro d'Italia organizer RCS Sport scrambled to deny reports of problems with the men's 2025 Corsa Rosa route, claiming that the route presentation scheduled for November 12 in Rome had been postponed due to simple “technical issues.”

There appears to be no doubt about the Giro d'Italia women's route, and concerns are reportedly focused on the opening stage of the men's race in Albania.

“The announcement of the 2025 Giro d'Italia and Giro d'Italia Women has been postponed to a date yet to be determined,” RCS Sport said in a brief note to the media.

“We apologize for any inconvenience caused and will provide an update on the new dates as soon as possible.”

According to leaks in the Italian media, the 2025 Giro was scheduled to start in Albania, with the Balkan country reportedly paying €7 million to host the three stages.

The Albanian Grande Partenza appeared to be part of a political game plan to promote relations between Italy and Albania after a history of invasions, tensions, and mass Albanian immigration to Italy in the early 1990s.

Last year, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reached an agreement with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama to transfer and hold some migrants to Albania while their asylum applications are processed. The deal, which will reportedly cost nearly 800 million euros over five years, will serve as a deterrent to the many asylum seekers who risk their lives by boat from Turkey, Greece, and especially Africa to reach Italy.

However, these plans fell apart recently when European and Italian judges ruled that asylum seekers cannot be detained in Albania and that their cases cannot be considered through special expedited procedures due to safety concerns if they are returned to their countries of origin.

The collapse of Meloni's immigration policy appears to have rippled through the Giro d'Italia Grande Partenza in 2025.

Italian state television RAI suggested that Albania was about to back out of hosting the Giro d'Italia Grande Partenza, angry at the way Albania was portrayed by the Italian media after the failure of its immigration policy.

Paolo Bellino, CEO of RCS Sport, insisted that despite the growing media coverage, starting in Albania was not a problem.

“There is no change of plans, no problem with Albania, the press conference on November 12 was only postponed due to technical problems... The press conference on November 12 was only postponed due to technical problems. I can't say more because we will issue a press release soon,” Bellino told Tuttobiciweb.

RCS Sport seems to reject the idea of a “Plan B” for Grande Partenza. However, no press release was issued on Thursday evening.

Meanwhile, there were reports that an alternative to the Grande Partenza could be three stages in Sicily before the planned route in Puglia is resumed. A local journalist confirmed the report, and the father of Sicilian rider Damiano Caruso listed the stage towns on Facebook.

Albania Grande Partenza could be a victim of the political fallout from the Italian right-wing government's failed immigration policy.

RCS Sport has been pursuing increased race revenues over the past few years, and especially in the last two years has been working to strengthen its relationship with the right-wing government led by Giorgia Meloni. Meloni presented the last maglia rosa to Tadei Pogachar in Rome this year.

RCS Sport ignored complaints from the team and brushed off environmental concerns about a long-term move to move the final stage of the Giro to Rome in 2023. In return, the Rome city council reportedly agreed to pay 1.2 million euros per year to host the final stage, as well as to pay for road closures, policing, and street cleaning. Italian media revealed that the Italian Tourist Board paid RCS Sport €3.3 million as part of a sponsorship package to promote Italy.

If the Grande Partenza were not held in Albania, it would be a huge financial blow and embarrassment for RCSport. The transfer fee from Sicily is considerably lower than the $7 million reportedly offered by Albania, which would put a hole in RCSport's budget.

Unless the Italian government somehow makes up the loss, RCSport could be forced to cut expenses. Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenpole have been mentioned as headliners for the 2025 Giro d'Italia.

RCS Sport may have to redesign the 2025 Giro d'Italia's opening stage, budget, and hopes of attracting big names.