The 2018 Giro d’Italia will be the first Grand Tour ever to start outside of Europe, after organisers RCS Sport confirmed the 101st Corsa Rosa will kick off with an individual time trial in Jerusalem.
Israel will host three stages in all, starting with a 10.1km race against the clock in the holy city on Friday May 4.
The short, rolling time trial features a technical route, with plenty of turns to negotiate, and passes by the historic walls of the Old City before an uphill finish.
Israel will then host two road stages too, with the first of those rolling out from Haifa to Tel Aviv on Saturday May 5.
Stage two of the 2017 Giro d’Italia includes just one climb, with a seafront finale expected to produce a bunch sprint to conclude the 167km stage.
Stage three, meanwhile, features a few gentle climbs to test the legs after rolling out from Be’er Sheva before heading into the Negev Desert and on to the Red Sea coast.
The 226km stage is again expected to end in a bunch sprint after a long descent down to the Eilat finish line.
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