Racing will begin on May 5 next year, with three stages set to take place in Sardinia, which has only welcomed the races on three previous occasions.

A 180 kilometre route from Cefalù to Mount Etna is then expected to ignite the battle for the general classification, with the fourth stage of the race, in Sicily, being one of four mountain top finishes included on the 2017 course.

Three-time winner Gino Bartali will be honoured when the race visits his birthplace on stage 11 in Ponte a Ema, before his great rival and five-time champion Fausto Coppi’s contribution to the race will be marked when stage 14 visits Castellania.

The 131km stage will also mark the performance of Marco Pantani in 1999, when as the defending champion he suffered a flat tire at the bottom of the climb but ultimately caught and passed his rivals.

Organisers have opted to include six sprint stages in the 2017 edition of the race, with the latest coming on stage 13 in Tortona.

Two individual time trials have also been included, with the first coming on stage 10 between Foligno and Montefalco.

A 28km effort against the clock will also round off the race on May 28, beginning at the famous Monza racetrack and ending in Milan.

It is expected that the 277km route from Rovetta to Bormio on stage 16 could prove key to the race, with the iconic Stelvio Pass being the highest point ever reached during the history of the Giro.

Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali is the defending champion and looks likely to ride the centenary edition of the Grand Tour, which features on the International Cycling Union’s (UCI) WorldTour.

The launch of the race was attended by numerous former winners, as well as UCI President Brian Cookson, Italian Olympic Committee President Giovanni Malagò and Renato Di Rocco, Italian Cycling Federation President.