Cyclists from the Giro d'Italia participated in a Memorial Ride through Yad Vashem's campus, concluding in the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations. Following the ride, a short ceremony was held conferring Commemorative Israeli Citizenship on the late Gino Bartali.

Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev presented the certificate of Commemorative Citizenship to Gioia Bartali granddaughter of Gino Bartali, in the presence of Italian Ambassador to Israel H.E. Mr. Gianluigi Benedetti and Honorary President of Giro d'Italia Big Start Sylvan Adams. Director of the Righteous Among the Nations Department Irena Steinfeldtwill was MC at the event.

The Giro d'Italia is the third largest international sporting event, after World Cup and Tour de France. The Israel Cycling Academy is composed of members from 16 nationalities. With Kjell Carlstrom of Finland manager and Ran Margaliot serving as general manager. Privately funded, the Israel Cycling Academy has two professional cyclists participating.

For Jerusalem to be selected as first starting location outside of Europe is a huge opportunity.  A billion people around the world can watch the internationally televised event as the top professional riders in the world go north, and down to Eliat over several days of the Giro d'Itaia race.

Gino Bartali, born in Florence in 1914, was a champion road cyclist who won the Italian Giro d'Italia multistage race three times (in 1936, 1937 and 1946) and the Tour de France twice (in 1938 and 1948). Owing to his remarkable accomplishments in sports, he became a popular and widely admired national hero. 

Following the German occupation of Italy in September 1943, Bartali, acted as a courier for the resistance. He came to play a role in the rescue of Jews within the framework of the network initiated by Rabbi Nathan Cassuto. Bartali was known to cover large distances with his bicycle for training purposes, and transferred forged documents from one place to another. His activity spanned a wide area and successfully alluded numerous German inspections. 

After the war, Bartali never spoke of his underground work during the German occupation,  many of his endeavors remain unknown.   He emphatically refused to be interviewed, saying that he had been motivated by his conscience and therefore did not want to have his activity.

Yad Vashem posthumously recognized the former Giro d'Italia cyclist Gino Bartali as Righteous Among the Nations in 2013 for his courageous actions in rescuing Jews during the Holocaust. Bartali's name is engraved on the Wall of Honor in the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations on the Mount of Remembrance.

Included in the photo essay are Israeli cyclists, and scenes from the Jerusalem Waldorf Hotel which is headquarters for the Giro d"Italia media and officials.