VeloNews has reported that the 100th Giro d’Italia will start in Sardinia as the race hopes to stay solely in Italy and reach as many of the nation’s 20 regions as possible in the 21 stages.

“The 2016 edition is already in the bag, all we need to do is race the course now,” RCS cycling director Mauro Vegni told VeloNews. “The 2017 course design is well into its design phases. It’s going to be an important year, the 100th edition. We want to have a completely Italian edition.”

VeloNews learned from insiders that the 2017 Giro will start in Sardinia. The race last began on the island in 2007. It could then travel, via airplanes and ferries, to Sicily. From the southern island, it is a short trip to Italy’s mainland in Calabria, where this year’s Giro travels after its Dutch start in Apeldoorn. The idea to race on the islands holds a dual purpose: getting the Giro to as much of Italy as possible for the 100th race and also going to the homelands of Italy’s two Grand Tour stars Fabio Aru and Vincenzo Nibali.

“We can’t go to the extremes. We can design a beautiful course that hits every region, but you need to keep in mind who is racing the race. So you need to give those riders time to recover and not bury them. It’s a way we’ve employed recently and we want to keep doing so,” Vegni said.