According to a report in today's Tuttosport, the Piedmont region in Italy is trying to make an agreement with Vuelta a Espana organizers Unipublic for the 2015 edition of the Spanish grand tour to start in Turin. Minister for sports and tourism Alberto Cirio hopes to attract the three-week race after having given up on a Tour de France start in the region.

While the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France both have a tradition of starting outside their main countries, the Vuelta a Espana has mostly taken off from the Spanish territory. The race has only started outside its home country twice, in 1997 and 2009, but a third foreign start may be on the cards for 2015.

According to Tuttosport, minister for sport and tourism in the Italian Piedmont region is intent on convincing the Vuelta organizers Unipublic that a start in the region would benefit both parties. Originally, he had set his sights on a Tour de France grand depart but the massive costs made him bury those plans.

The lower costs of the Spanish grand tour makes is a more realistic target.

"We are convinced that the Vuelta can offer development to our area," he told Tuttosport. "We also tried to get a Tour de France start but the costs were too high. Now we are doing everything to get a start in Piedmont for the great Spanish event. The costs are manageable. The Vuelta could stay three days on our roads and then resume their journey on Spanish territory or travel home along the Cote d'Azur."

Earlier this year, Vuelta race director said that the Netherlands had a 99,9% chance of hosting the 2015 start but in May, the organizing committee in the Dutch region of Drenthe received a written notification that the plans had been cancelled without being given any further explanation. Instead, the race may now start in Italy.

At the end of this year's race, it was revealed that the 2014 edition will start in Jerez with the province of Cadiz hosting the first three stages.