Italy faces severe organizational issues as Lyon-Torino’s innaugural edition is cancelled

The innaugural edition of Lyon-Torino (2.1), scheduled for July 1-3, will not take place, DirectVelo informs. The ambitious project aimed to connect the French and Italian metropolis located at the foot of the Alps with a four-stage event, including a mountain time trial in a traditional “split-day” race format. However more details were never brought to life as the race silently disappeared from the UCI list during the spring without any official communication.

With several new races making their appearance on the Italian racing calendar ahead of this season, there was a careful optimism among cycling enthusiasts in the land of several iconic events spearheaded by Giro d’Italia, Milano-Sanremo, Il Lombardia, Tirreno-Adriatico and most recently joined by Strade Bianche.

And while Italy takes pride in its extensive schedule in youth categories and at the amateur/under-23 level, the middle-category has been represented rather sparsely with main block of racing centered around Il Lombardia with a range of one-day races in autumn.

That’s why the early drafts of UCI calendar for 2026 season have been met with quite an excitement over the re-introduction of historical Giro di Sardegna. And while this five-day race proceeded smoothly, other new events under the patronage of ExtraGiro have not met as glorious a fate.

Has cycling calendar grown crowded?

The decision follows a series of recent cancellations by the organiser, including the Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria (1.1), which was due to take place on April 10, and the new Giro Magna Grecia (1.1), set to bring cycling to the southern Italy from April 12 to 16.

As a reminder, A-Vélo, which organizes the Tour de l’Avenir and the Tour de l’Ain, was supposed to help ExtraGiro during the first stage which was planned in France.

The cancellation also points to a broader issue. In recent seasons, it has become increasingly difficult for new races to secure a stable place on the calendar. Rising costs and a crowded schedule leave little margin for organisers to establish new events.