Giro d'Italia cycling race to go inside the Vatican's walls in homage to Pope Francis

ROME — It could very well be the biggest sporting event ever held inside the walls of the Vatican.

The Giro d'Italia will pay homage to the late Pope Francis by passing through the Vatican gardens behind St. Peter's Basilica and in front of the Santa Marta hotel — where Francis lived — during the final stage of the cycling race on June 1.

More than 150 cyclists will pedal for three kilometers (nearly two miles) through an area of the Vatican rarely seen by the general public and live TV images will broadcast the scenes around the world.

''The original idea was to have Francis signal the start of the last stage to promote the Vatican and the Eternal City in the 2025 Holy Year,'' Giro director Mauro Vegni told The Associated Press on Tuesday following a presentation of the 21st stage.

Francis, however, died last week at 88.

''We wanted to go right up to Casa Santa Marta because we knew the pope was aging, so we thought he could come down and offer a blessing to start the final stage. Then unfortunately things turned out differently. But it will remain an homage to Francis,'' Vegni added.

By June, there should be a new pope, with the conclave to elect Francis' successor slated to start May 7.

Bishop Paul Tighe, the No. 2 in the Vatican's culture and education ministry, said hosting the Giro highlights ''that there is kind of an interest in the Church in the whole reality of sport.

''If you think about it, on any given Sunday, there will be as many people watching sports as maybe participating in religious functions. And sometimes the same people,'' Tighe added. ''So this is a way of saying that this is the human reality that celebrates human achievements. That is important for us as a church."

The cyclists will enter the Vatican through the Petriano gate to the left of St. Peter's, ride around the basilica and then climb up toward the gardens before exiting near Santa Marta at the Perugino gate.

The passage through the Vatican will be during the neutralized period before the stage. The official start will then begin after the riders exit the narrow Perugino gate. The official start can't take place inside the Vatican because it would raise the likelihood of crashes.

While 184 cyclists divided into 23 teams of eight riders each will start the Giro on May 9 — with the opening three stages held in Albania for the first time — there will likely be 20 to 30 riders who don't make it to the final stage.

The Giro has been to the Vatican before

In 1974, the Giro started in the Vatican and in the 2000 Holy Year, the opening prologue finished in St. Peter's Square. The race has also passed by St. Peter's multiple times, including the last two years.

But never before has the race gone so far into Vatican City like it will this year — which has called for extraordinary negotiations between race organizers and the Holy See.

Team cars covered with sponsors' labels will not be allowed inside the Vatican. So organizers will provide one pool car of mechanics in case any of the riders puncture their tires or have other issues inside the walls.

The usual array of photographers riding on motorcycles who document the race will be reduced and TV images will be produced by the Vatican's own media team and race organizers. Discussions are ongoing over whether aerial TV coverage provided by helicopters or drones will be permitted in what is usually heavily protected air space.

''It's been a difficult negotiation,'' Tigue said, ''But it was the enthusiasm of the pope for the project that opened doors. Otherwise, it would have been very easy to say, ‘It's impossible. It can't be done.'

''It's not going to be a competitive moment. It's more a moment symbolically that they're there,'' Tigue added. ''And then, by coincidence, the area where they're up in the higher end of the gardens is an area where there are all these statues of our Lady from all over the world, from various sanctuaries, so in a sense it's a reminder of the international dimension of sport and the international dimension of faith.''

After leaving the Vatican, the final Giro stage follows a 143-kilometer route (89-mile) concluding with a circuit of eight laps through downtown Rome and the finish next to the Colosseum.

The Vatican has cycling and track teams

The Vatican has expanded its presence in the sports world in recent years, in cycling in particular: Dutch-born rider Rien Schuurhuis competed for the Vatican at the cycling world championships the last three years.

Francis was a big soccer fan and often hailed sports as a way to promote solidarity and inclusion, especially for young people.

In 2019, the Vatican launched an official track team featuring Swiss Guards, priests and nuns to compete in international events.

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AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling