he Indonesian Cycling Federation (ISSI) has signed a memorandum of understanding for a future partnership with RCS Sports, the organizer of Giro d’Italia cycling grand tour.
The deal pertains to hosting the Tour de Indonesia cycling road race in 2018, the federation said in a statement.
“We decided to work with RCS Sports because we have some cultural similarities with Italy,” said ISSI chief Rajasapta Oktohari.
Oktohari flew to Florence, Italy to seal the deal with RCS Sports general manager Paolo Bellino on the sidelines of stage 11 of the Giro d’Italia.
Besides closing the deal, Oktohari said he also learned how the organizer ran Giro d’Italia, which is one among the three most popular cycling grand tours along with Tour de France and La Vuelta de Espana.
“We studied how the organizer handled critical moments”
“In stage nine, for example, [Welsh] Geraint Thomas of Team Sky was caught in a pile-up involving a police motorbike and the team intended on withdrawing from the race. The organizers managed to settle the case with everyone’s approval.
“It was such a valuable lesson for us because we certainly will face troubles during the Tour de Indonesia,” said Oktohari.
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