Dublin, Belfast bid for Giro start

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.

A cross-border submission to host the opening stages of the World Tour race in 2014 has been put together by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) and Fáilte Ireland in conjunction with Stormont and the Irish government.

If successful, it would mean a six-day cycling extravaganza featuring up to 200 of the world’s most high-profile riders.

Total costs for the submission have been estimated at €4.7m. However, it is predicted that the race could generate up to €12m for the local economy.

The majority of the funding will be provided by the NITB but Belfast City Council has also been asked to commit €496,000, it has emerged.

A spokesman for the Dublin-based company ShadeTree Sports, which helped facilitate the now defunct Tour of Ireland said more details could emerge within the next week.

It has been proposed that this event would take place over the bank holiday weekend of May 2 to 4, 2014. The start of the race is traditionally formatted over six days, with the first three taken up with festival-type events in preparation and the remaining three days would see actual racing with individual or team time trials.

The joint city bid will be up against a number of other Italian cities.

The last time a race of this magnitude came to these shores was the 1998 Tour de France which finished in Dublin and had stage finishes in Enniscorthy and Cork city respectively. However, that race will be forever etched into Tour history because of the doping scandal which surrounded the Festina team.