The Giro d’Italia’s Big Start is in Ireland this year – but what is the Giro, and why is everything pink?

One of the key figures in bringing the Giro d’Italia to Ireland is hopeful the race can leave a lasting and positive legacy.

The Tour of Ireland is on course to return in 2015 with a five-day 2.1-ranked race on the cards, according to Dublin-based sports marketing firm Shadetree Sports.

The 2014 Giro d’Italia will start in Northern Ireland and will have at least one stage finish in the Republic.

Sixteen years after the country played host to the Tour de France, Ireland could yet again be about to stage an iconic bike race after it emerged that Belfast and Dublin have teamed up in a bid to win the right to stage part the Giro d’Italia.