{"id":120347,"date":"2026-05-11T16:24:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T16:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/250000-fans-in-sofia-a-packed-lidl-car-park-and-flamingos-giro-ditalia-reflections-from-a-crash-marred-but-memorable-bulgarian-grande-partenza\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T16:24:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T16:24:01","slug":"250000-fans-in-sofia-a-packed-lidl-car-park-and-flamingos-giro-ditalia-reflections-from-a-crash-marred-but-memorable-bulgarian-grande-partenza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/250000-fans-in-sofia-a-packed-lidl-car-park-and-flamingos-giro-ditalia-reflections-from-a-crash-marred-but-memorable-bulgarian-grande-partenza\/","title":{"rendered":"250,000 fans in Sofia, a packed Lidl car park, and flamingos \u2013 Giro d’Italia reflections from a crash-marred but memorable Bulgarian Grande Partenza"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When former Giro d’Italia<\/a> winner Jai Hindley was asked to give his thoughts on La Corsa Rosa starting in Bulgaria in 2026 back in December, all he could come up with in the way of a description was “pretty random,” and for the next five months until the actual start, that felt appropriate.<\/p>\n

2,000km from the race’s home nation, and yes, with some established cycling culture in the way of bike touring, but its lack of involvement in the professional ranks and uncertainties over road quality and the painfully long transfers<\/a> \u2013 some 550km to cover in the three days \u2013 made it questionable as a choice. That is not to disrespect the 2.2 Tour of Bulgaria stage race, but without a Continental team or any male pros in the current peloton, the link between Bulgaria and the Giro was hard to see.<\/p>\n

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