On Sunday the famed Giro d'Italia cycling race finished in Rome for the second year in a row. The city wants to make it an annual fixture.

Rome's mayor said the Eternal City is the "natural" choice for the grand finale of the Giro d'Italia race which took place on the streets of the capital on Sunday for the second year in a row.

Thousands of cycling fans and tourists lined the route of the final stage of the 107th edition of the race which sped past numerous Rome landmarks and concluded against the backdrop of the Colosseum.

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar won the Giro d'Italia on Sunday with the race's biggest overall margin of victory in almost six decades.

Winner of the 2024 #GirodItalia

@TamauPogi (UAD)
#GirodItalia pic.twitter.com/mDItnAqayx

— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 26, 2024

The city's mayor Roberto Gualtieri told the news agency Dire that the "winning union" between Rome and the Giro d'Italia proved that the capital is the "natural conclusion" for the race, in the same way that Paris hosts the final stage of the Tour de France.

This view was echoed by Rome's councillor for major events, Alessandro Onorato, who said that after the success of the last two editions the capital had confirmed its ability to host the Giro d'Italia.

The grand finale of the #GirodItalia as it passes the Circus Maximus in Rome pic.twitter.com/Ujp5ahbpdl

— Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) May 26, 2024

Onorato said the city had moved on from the embarrassment of the 2018 edition when organisers were forced to cut short the route due to the potholes and poor condition of Rome's streets at the time, a decision that led to much criticism of then mayor Virginia Raggi.

“Rome today is different, it is no longer the city of 'no' that refuses the Olympics but the capital of major sporting and cultural events" - Onorato said - "an international metropolis capable of hosting the Giro d'Italia, the horse show in Piazza di Siena with 60,000 spectators, a full house at the Olimpico for Lazio-Sassuolo in Serie A and the rugby Bingham Cup all on the same day."

This year was the sixth time that the famed cycling race culminated in Rome, after previous Roman editions in 1911, 1950, 2009, 2018 and last year.

Photo Roma Capitale