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ROME, May 14-- For the first time since World War II, the famed Giro d'Italia bike race will depart from its traditional spot near the start of the European cycling season, pushed into the autumn by the coronavirus pandemic. The 103rd edition of the race was originally scheduled to start in Hungary last Sunday, with three stages taking place there -- the 14th time the race would have started outside Italy's borders -- before arriving in Italy Tuesday for the race's final 18 stages. The finish, which had been scheduled for May 31, was to take place in Milan. The coronavirus has changed all that. The race is now scheduled to take place on Oct. 3-25. The race will start in Italy, according to Paolo Bellino, the managing director of RCS Sport, the entity that organizes the Giro d'Italia, though the final route has not yet been decided. Of course, cycling is not the only sport forced to change its plans due to the coronavirus, which first emerged in Italy in January. The country's professional soccer league is still debating whether it will continue the season suspended in March, and the Formula 1 car racing program is in limbo. Tentative plans are for Italy's main tennis tournaments to take place late in the summer. Meanwhile, rugby, volleyball, basketball, and water polo seasons have all been canceled outright, preferring to restart in 2021. But none of those sports faced the logistical challenges of the Giro d'Italia, which each year takes a different route winding through the cities and villages and the Italian countryside, covering nearly 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) most years, and taking three weeks to complete. | 
