Milan, Sept 24, 2018 (AFP) - The 2019 Giro d'Italia will begin with an 8.2km time-trial in Bologna, in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, organizers announced on Monday.

Britain's Chris Froome won the 2018 edition of the race which started in Israel.

The 102nd edition of the race for the pink jersey will start on May 11 and end on June 2, with full details of the world's second biggest stage race, after the Tour de France, to be published in November. 

The race gets underway with a tough individual time trial concluding in an uphill finish in Bologna, which last hosted the opening stage 25 years ago.

Big Start #Giro 102 pic.twitter.com/pKgHJUvhc1

— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) September 24, 2018

The second stage heads south from Bologna, with the peloton revisiting the Emilia-Romagna region with starts or finishes in Riccione, Ravenna, Modena and Capri, organisers RCS said. 

RCS confirmed that stage nine will be a demanding 34.7km time trial from the coastal town of Riccione to San Marino, where the second half of the course is almost entirely uphill.

The Giro's first rest day will be on May 20, the race resuming the following day with a flat stage 10 from Ravenna to Modena which will favor the sprinters. 

Stage 11 will start from Carpi and, according to RCS Sport, "head towards the west."