National teams won’t be allowed to ride under-23 Giro d’Italia in 2020

Changes to the under-23 Giro d’Italia means that national teams won’t be invited to compete in the nine-stage race next season.

The Italian Cycling Federation has approved rule changes for the Giro Ciclistico d’Italia, also known as the Baby Giro, which means trade teams will be invited by the organisers, with national federations no longer fielding riders.

Brits put on an outstanding show in the 2019 edition, winning four stages with three riders - Ethan Hayter, Matt Walls and Alfred Wright - but British Cycling will have to rethink their approach next season.

A total of 29 teams will be invited to the 2020 edition, which runs from June 4-14, split between 15 Italian squads and 13 international teams and a potential regional team.

Teams will also be invited to race, replacing a qualifying points system that had been used, in order to stop teams over-racing from February to May to gain a spot.

Race director Marco Selleri said: “In the last three years the under-23 Giro d’Italia has allowd the Italian cycling movement to grow steadily, as demonstrated with the World Championship won by [Samuele] Battistella.

“Until 2019, foreign teams were selected an invited in advance, while among the Italian teams the selection ranking was drawn up in mid-May.”

According to The British Continental, British Cycling coach Matt Brammeier has indicated that BC will attempt to enter the event under their academy trade squad, Team Inspired.

Another new addition to the rules is the fact that riders who have raced in WorldTour races in previous years will not be eligible to compete in the Baby Giro.

British riders were one of the dominant forces in this year’s edition, as Ethan Hayter won the opening two stages, Matt Walls taking the third and Alfred Wright claiming stage seven.

The Colombians were equally a force to be reckoned with, winning four stages and taking the overall with Andrés Ardila.

>>> GB faces tough battle at 2020 Olympics but can still be confident, says head coach 

First held in 1970, the Baby Giro ran consistently through to 2005 and then sporadically up until 2017, when it was re-launched as an annual event.

Former winners include Pavel Sivakov (Team Ineos) Joe Dombrowski (EF Education First) and Dario Cataldo (Astana).