Pope Leo XIV blesses cyclists competing in the Giro d'Italia as final stage enters Vatican gardens
Pope Leo XIV receives a pink jersey from the hands of RCS president Urbano Cairo (AP)
VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV blessed the 159 cyclists competing in the Giro d'Italia on Sunday as the three-week race's final stage began with an unprecedented ride through the Vatican gardens behind St.
Peter's Basilica.
After entering the Vatican, overall race leader Simon Yates and leaders of the other classifications got off their bikes and walked forward to shake hands with the pope, who was presented with a replica of the leader's pink jersey.
"You are role models for young people all over the world," Leo told the peloton. "May God bless all of you on this last part of the Giro d'Italia. Congratulations to all of you.
May you know that you are always welcome here in the Vatican. You are always welcome by the church, which represents God's love for all people."
In an off-script moment, Colombia's Nairo Quintana, the 2014 Giro champion, stopped to greet the pope after all of the other riders had already moved on.
While popes have blessed the Giro riders before and the race has previously passed through or next to St. Peter's Square, this marked the first time that the route took the peloton on a three-kilometer (nearly two-mile) route inside the Vatican walls.
Bringing the race inside the Vatican was originally intended as an homage to Pope Francis during the 2025 Holy Year but after Francis died, Leo - the first American pope decided to honor the event in Francis' memory.
The cyclists entered the Vatican through the Petriano gate to the left of St. Peter's, rode around the basilica and then climbed up toward the gardens before exiting near the Santa Marta hotel at the Perugino gate.
Santa Marta was where Francis lived.
The passage through the Vatican occurred during the non-competitive neutralized period before the stage. The official start was given after the riders exited the narrow Perugino gate.
British rider Yates could cruise to the title with an advantage of nearly four minutes over Isaac Del Toro of Mexico.
The 143-kilometer (89-mile) final stage concluded with a circuit of eight laps through downtown Rome and finished next to the Circus Maximus.
It's the third time since Leo was elected last month that he has met with the sports world.
Two weeks ago, Leo held a private audience with top-ranked tennis player Jannik Sinner. Then last week, he welcomed the players and staff of Italian soccer champion Napoli to the Vatican.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
32 minutes ago
- Mint
Gukesh overcomes Erigaisi challenge to jump to 2nd spot in Norway Chess after victory against world No.1 Magnus Carlsen
World champion D Gukesh, 19, turned a difficult position into a win, beating compatriot Arjun Erigaisi for the first time in a classical game. With this win in round 7 of the Norway Chess tournament, he moved into second place on his own. It comes after a nerve-wracking victory against defending champion and world No.1 Magnus Carlsen. As has been the trend in Gukesh's campaign in this elite six-payer double round-robin tournament, the teenager, playing with white, showed nerves of steel to secure his second consecutive win, without going through the rigmarole of an Armageddon tie-break, to take sweet revenge for his loss to Erigaisi earlier in Round 2. The win saw Gukesh overtake the 34-year-old Norwegian on the points table with 11.5 points. This was also Gukesh's first win in three attempts against Erigaisi, who had beaten the world champion at the Tata Steel Chess tournament in Wijk Aan Zee to spoil his title-winning chances, and then again in Round 2 here. With three more rounds to go, pole sitter American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana, who defeated Wei Yi of China, is on 12.5 points. Carlsen is third with 11 points following his Armageddon win against another American Grandmaster and world No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura, who is fourth with 8.5 points. Erigaisi dropped to fifth position with 7.5 points following the loss, while Wei Yi is placed sixth with 6.5 points. For the first three-and-a-half hours of the game, Gukesh was on the defensive but finally managed to up his game to earn a win, tying down his opponent in time trouble. Erigaisi faltered that wee bit, which gave Gukesh an opening that he exploited and forced his opponent to resign after some intense play. "Probably I was just losing it at some point. I was just slowly getting outplayed. From the opening nothing went my way but once I got to this position I just had to keep making moves which doesn't lose on the spot and in the time scrambles things happen," Gukesh told the broadcaster after the match. Analysing the game, Gukesh's Polish coach Grzegorz Gajewski said, though it was not the best game played by the reigning world champion but he was happy that he had pulled it off, mentioning, "Probably not his best game ever, at least not the first half of the game, but definitely a very good second half of the game, so happy with that." On whether the win on Monday was because of a change of mindset following Gukesh's come-from-behind victory against Carlsen on Sunday, Gajewski said, "When you're in such trouble (as in Sunday's game) and you keep fighting and you get rewarded for it, you have even more faith that it makes sense to keep fighting. "So, on the very next day (against Erigaisi), when you're again in trouble, you definitely know what to do, you just keep fighting," he added. He further stated that Gukesh was aiming for playing the perfect games, where the margin of error was bare minimum, which was finally contributing to his success here. "He's demanding the very highest level of accuracy and precision from you (opponent), and if you're not up to it, you might mess up the position even if you're number one in the world,' said Pole said. On whether the win against Erigaisi was bigger than the victory over Carlsen, given that Gukesh had never beaten his Indian counterpart ever in Classical chess before the win on Monday, the coach said, "Yes, definitely, Erigaisi is a very difficult opponent to beat, but I would not compare the two games. 'You really have to achieve a lot to be compared with Magnus in any regard. (For Monday's game) Gukesh was just focused. It was nice, definitely very nice yesterday (to beat Carlsen), but today is a new challenge and after that there is another challenge. Gukesh was just making moves; he was completely in the zone from the first move to the last move… He has extraordinary calculation abilities, which combined with his fighting spirit help him defend so many positions,' Pole added. The Carlsen vs Nakamura game was interesting as the two players agreed to a draw after just 21 moves, with both having about an hour-and-a-half each left on the clock. In the Armageddon, Carlsen defeated the world No.2 to log in 1.5 points. In the women's section, Ukrainian GM Anna Muzychuk got the better of two-time world rapid champion Koneru Humpy in Armageddon tie-break, while GM R. Vaishali fell apart in time trouble against China's Lei Tingjie. Ju Wenjun is leading the table with 11.5 points, followed by Muzychuk (11 points) in second and Humpy in third with 10.5 points. Open: D Gukesh (Ind – 11.5 points) bt Arjun Erigaisi (Ind – 7.5); Fabiano Caruana (USA – 12.5) bt Wei Yi (Chn – 6.5); Magnus Carlsen (Nor – 11) bt Hikaru Nakamura (USA – 8.5) in Armageddon tie-break. Women: Lei Tingjie (Chn – 9) bt R Vaishali (Ind – 8); Ju Wenjun (Chn – 11.5 points) bt Sara Khadem (Esp - 6); Koneru Humpy (Ind - 10.5) lost to Anna Muzychuk (Ukr – 11) in Armageddon tie-break.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Test captaincy a challenge but Shubman Gill has composure: Glenn McGrath
Gill will captain India against England in the Test series in June (Image via AP/Manish Swarup) Chennai : Newly-appointed India Test captain Shubman Gill is set for a trial by fire in the five-match assignment in England, where he will venture into uncharted territory. The absence of experienced campaigners — following the recent retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma — will only make Gill's task tougher. While doubts have been raised regarding Gill's elevation to red-ball captaincy, given his not-sofantastic returns away from home, legendary Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath backed the 25-year-old to come good in his new role. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! 'I'm keen to see how India go under Gill. I just like the way he goes about it. He is pretty composed. I like his body language. I know that he has done better on home soil than abroad. That is the next challenge. He will want to go over there and set the standard in England. Batting in England is a lot different to batting in India,' McGrath, the director of coaching at the MRF Pace Foundation, said here on Monday. Shubman Gill story: From a remote village near the border to India's Test captain 'It will be a challenge for him, but I think that Gill has got good composure. He will be a good Test captain. India do not have the experience that they had with Rohit and Virat. So they have got to go over there and enjoy,' McGrath added. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Promoções imperdíveis de voos baratos Voos | Anúncios de Pesquisa Saiba Mais Undo Poll Do you believe Shubman Gill is ready for the role of Test captain? Yes, he has the skills. No, he lacks experience. Gill will undoubtedly rely on Jasprit Bumrah's wizardry on seamfriendly surfaces, but will have to prepare a good-enough plan 'B' as the pace spearhead is likely to be rested for a game or two. Asked if India are over reliant on Bumrah to create a telling impact, McGrath replied that the pacer relishes rising to the big occasions. 'In Australia, they over-relied on Bumrah. He had to bowl more than he wanted. In the end, that is where the injury (back issue) probably came from. He enjoys that extra responsibility. When he captained India in Perth, he stepped up and enjoyed the challenge. He will enjoy bowling with the Duke ball in English conditions,' McGrath said. Shubman Gill returns to the city where it all started for him as a youngster 'Bumrah looks like he is back to full fitness, so he is going to play a major part. He is a class bowler. He has not played the long version of the game (for months now), so India have to use the other bowlers well. The key to Bumrah's longevity is how the bowlers around him bowl. If they bowl longer spells, Bumrah can get more rest.' Among the other members of the pace-bowling pack, Prasidh Krishna has caught McGrath's eye. 'If he can hit the right lengths, he is going to be dangerous with the bounce which he can get,' McGrath said.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Dan Ticktum responds as George Russell hints a Formula E driver did what Max Verstappen did, says 'To be likened to him is a positive'
Image credit: Formula E/Instagram Cupra Kiro driver Dan Ticktum has reacted to Formula 1 driver George Russell's 'one British driver in Formula E' mention when the latter was asked if he had ever seen a driver who did what F1 champion Max Verstappen did, that is, deliberately hitting another during a race. Ticktum responded to Russell's remark by thanking him for 'free publicity' and likening himself to none other than Verstappen, who is currently the reigning number 1 champion in Formula 1. George Russell hinted at Dan Ticktum while commenting on Spanish Grand Prix incident Red Bull driver Max Verstappen was handed a 10-second penalty during the race and a three-point penalty on his licence for hitting George Russell's Mercedes during the Spanish Grand Prix. One more mistake and he can face a one-race ban. When Russell was asked if he had seen any other driver do such a thing, he told the media, "Not in Formula 1. Maybe in Formula E. Maybe one British driver in Formula E.' Dan Ticktum responds to George Russell's remark Dan Ticktum took note of Russell's mention. Ticktum had received a two-year ban for deliberately hitting another driver during an MSA Formula (now British F4) race. He recently clinched his first podium of the season at the Tokyo E-Prix. Taking to Instagram to share a recorded response to Russell's remark, Ticktum said, "I have just had a very nice evening with the team and some of the guys from Porsche here in Shanghai. I'm just on the way back to the hotel. It has come to my attention via the Twittersphere that a certain driver in Formula 1 - not to name names but his name is George Russell - has made some rather choice comments about a certain Formula E driver. ' Thanking Russell for the mention, he further said, "He hasn't named my name, but it's quite obviously pointed at me. We'd like to address those comments that he made I believe on the team radio. Number one, thank you for the free publicity. We'll take that any day of the week. And two, while what Max did today was a little bit sceptical, to be likened to him at any point in my career is a positive if you ask me. Goodbye." Also Read: 'Everyone doubts me': Dan Ticktum after claiming first-ever podium at Tokyo E-Prix 2025 Round 9 Max Verstappen later penned a note in which he accepted that the mistake was not right and it 'shouldn't have happened.' Meanwhile, Dan Ticktum is now preparing for the Jakarta E-Prix. It is scheduled for June 21.
