A quiet yet significant reduction in the prize money on offer is just one sign that the situation isn’t great.
Starlight has already quietly let slip a massive reduction in prize money, from €50,000 for the race winner to only €2,000. The race’s social media has been silent since July 12, 2022, and the route announcement for the 2023 edition went completely off the radar, with only a Google link posted to the website and no announcements whatsoever.
The organizers are also having trouble scraping together the money to broadcast 90 minutes of each stage. Not good.
I saw that pathetic reduction in prize money mentioned months ago when people were complaining that the stages hadn’t even been announced and the lack of a TV deal might mean no coverage (at that stage potential loss of WWT status wasn’t mentioned). Now there is this about the TV but I’ll believe it when the race actually starts. https://www.ciclismoweb.net/2023/06/23/fci-una-notte-magica-e-la-delibera-presidenziale-che-salva-il-giro-donne/