RCS Sport is a sports & media company part of RCS Group (controlled by Cairo Communications) that specialises in organising and marketing sporting events. RCS organises the Giro d'Italia and other cycling races, as well as other sporting events such as the Milano Marathon. [1] It is the second biggest organiser of cycling events behind Amaury Sport Organisation. [2]
La Gazzetta dello Sport, an Italian sports newspaper was founded in 1896, and began organising the Giro d'Italia cycling race in 1909. In March 1989, RCS Sport was founded with the aim of organising the cycling events run by La Gazzetta dello Sport.
In 2013, in cooperation with the Dubai Sports Council, RCS Sport and Events DMCC, a subsidiary branch of RCS Sport based in Dubai, was established. 2014 saw the foundation of RCS Active Team, a company specialising in the organisation of mass participation sporting events. In 2019, RCS Sports & Events was created, a branch that joined RCS Sport in the management of sports events.
RCS Sport owns and runs 6 UCI World Tour events:
It also own two UCI ProSeries events:
Three UCI Europe Tour events:
Four UCI Women's World Tour events:
RCS Sport organises mass participation sporting events. This category includes the Milano Marathon, the Abu Dhabi Marathon, the Roma-Ostia Half Marathon the Rome Half Marathon, and two Gran Fondo (Gran Fondo Strade Bianche and Gran Fondo Il Lombardia "Felice Gimondi").
RCS Sport is advisor to Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano.
The Giro d'Italia, also known simply as the Giro, is an annual multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 1909 to increase sales of the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, and the race is still run by a subsidiary of that paper's owner. The race has been held annually since its first edition in 1909, except during the two world wars. As the Giro gained prominence and popularity, the race was lengthened, and the peloton expanded from primarily Italian participation to riders from all over the world. The Giro is a UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams that compete in the race are mostly UCI WorldTeams, with some additional teams invited as 'wild cards'.
Damiano Cunego is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2018 for the Saeco, Lampre–Merida and Nippo–Vini Fantini–Europa Ovini teams.
The classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional road cycling races in the international calendar. Some of these events date back to the 19th century. They are normally held at roughly the same time each year. The five most revered races are often described as the cycling monuments.
Milano–Torino is a semi classic European single day cycling race, between the northern Italian cities of Milan and Turin over a distance of 199 kilometres. The event was first run in 1876 making it the oldest classic race in the world. The event is owned by the RCS media group which owns the Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport. RCS also organises other top Italian cycling events such as the Giro d'Italia, Milan–San Remo and Tirreno–Adriatico. The race is ranked UCI ProSeries on the UCI continental calendar. The race was not run between the spring of 2007 and the autumn of 2012.
Filippo "Pippo" Pozzato is an Italian former road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2000 and 2018 for the Mapei–Quick-Step, Fassa Bortolo, Quick-Step–Innergetic, Liquigas, Team Katusha, Lampre–Merida, and two spells with the Farnese Vini–Selle Italia/Wilier Triestina–Selle Italia teams.
Franco Pellizotti is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2001 and 2018 for the Alessio, Liquigas–Doimo, Androni Giocattoli–Sidermec and Bahrain–Merida teams. Pellizotti now works as a directeur sportif for the Team Bahrain Victorious team.
Giovanni Visconti is a former Italian professional road racing cyclist, who last rode for UCI ProTeam VF Group–Bardiani–CSF–Faizanè.
Giampaolo Caruso is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2015 for the Würth, Lampre–Fondital, LPR Brakes–Ballan, Ceramica Flaminia and Team Katusha squads.
The Strade Bianche is a road bicycle race in Tuscany, Central Italy, starting and finishing in Siena. First held in 2007, it is raced annually on the first or second Saturday of March. The name stems from the historic white gravel roads in the Crete Senesi, which are a defining feature of the race. One-third of the total race distance is raced on dirt roads, covering 63 km (39 mi) of strade bianche, spread over 11 sectors.
Fabio Felline is an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Lidl–Trek.
Elisa Longo Borghini is an Italian professional road cyclist, who rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam Lidl–Trek.
The 2013 Milan–San Remo was the 104th running of the Milan–San Remo single-day cycling race. It was held on 17 March over a shortened distance of 246 kilometres, and was the fourth race of the 2013 UCI World Tour season. For the first time in 31 years, Milan–San Remo was held on a Sunday, after race organisers requested to change and move into line with several of the other Classic races.
Davide Formolo is an Italian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Movistar Team. Formolo turned professional in 2014.
Diego Rosa is an Italian former racing cyclist, who competed as a professional from 2013 to 2022. He rode in nine Grand Tours and was victorious in the 2015 Milano–Torino.
Alberto Bettiol is an Italian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Astana Qazaqstan Team. Bettiol turned professional in 2014, with his first professional win coming at the 2019 Tour of Flanders. He competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in the road race, and time trial.
The 2015 Giro d'Italia was a three-week Grand Tour cycling stage race that took place in May 2015. It was the 98th running of the Giro d'Italia and took place principally in Italy, although some stages visited France and Switzerland. The 3,481.8-kilometre (2,163.5 mi) race included 21 stages, beginning in San Lorenzo al Mare on 9 May and concluding in Milan on 31 May. It was the fifteenth race of the 2015 UCI World Tour. The Giro was won by Alberto Contador (Tinkoff–Saxo), with Fabio Aru (Astana) second and Aru's teammate Mikel Landa third.
The 2017 Strade Bianche was a road cycling one-day race that took place on 4 March. It was the eleventh edition of the Strade Bianche and was the fifth event of the 2017 UCI World Tour. It was the first time that the race was included in the UCI World Tour calendar.
The 2022 Strade Bianche Donne was an Italian road cycling one-day race that took place on 5 March 2022. It was the 8th edition of Strade Bianche Donne and the first event of the 2022 UCI Women's World Tour. The usual first race of the season, the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in Australia was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was won by the Belgian national champion Lotte Kopecky.
The 16th edition of Strade Bianche was held on 5 March 2022. It was the third event of the 2022 UCI World Tour.