Image 1 of 4 The Giro d'Italia trophy on display in Naples (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 2 of 4 Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) was crowned the 2013 Giro d'Italia winner (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 3 of 4 The 2014 Giro d'Italia route Image 4 of 4 Angelo Zomegnan gave a brief speech expressing his desire to see the Giro start in Washington. (Image credit: Laura Weislo)

Sweden is hoping to become the northernmost start of the Giro d'Italia, according to Eurosport.se. The Italian Tour has never been further north than Denmark.

The race organiser Mauro Vegni has reportedly met with bicycle manufacturer Cycleurope and its parent company Grimaldi about a possible visit.

"They asked me to look at the effort that would be needed for a start in Sweden," Vegni said. "We talked about possibly sometime after 2017."

The CEO of the Vätternrundan, a hugely popular Swedish 300km sportif, Eva-Lena Frick said that more needs to be done to go ahead with the project.

"We have had an initial discussion and we have been looking and waiting for this. At present, we have determined that it is way too large a commitment for us, but it's something that you have the door open for. It is an amazing offer."

The Giro d'Italia has started outside of Italy's borders 11 times in its history: twice in each Belgium and the Netherlands, in Greece, France, and in 2012, in Denmark, as well as the Vatican City and San Marino. The race will begin in Ireland in 2014.

Vegni has previously spoken of his desire to internationalise the race with New York and Dubai floated as potential starts.

Organising the race start comes with a great deal of costs and requires the cooperation of many different stakeholders, from business to the governments.

Yet it also provides ample opportunity to promote Sweden's culture and tourism.

"The fact that we show the world that we are good at organizing major events, we can accommodate many people and give them a lovely experience. Both the racers and the fans who could come here and discover the country would want to come back" Frick said. "It would allow us many different ways to show that we in Sweden have lots to offer."