Yesterday, 12 January, 2010, the City of Amsterdam announced the official route for the start of the 2010 Giro d’Italia. Saturday, 8 May, will see the start of the 93rd edition of the Giro with a time trial covering more than 8 kilometres right through the historical city center. During recent months the City of Amsterdam and race organizer RCS Sport have been working to put together a route that promises to be truly spectacular from both a sporting and a spectators’ point of view.
The first stage will begin at Museumplein in the heart of Amsterdam and will finish at the Olympic Stadium. The route for the opening stage is fast and measures exactly 8.4 kilometers making it relatively long. This is the longest opening time trial of the Giro d’Italia since the 1990 individual time trial in Bari which covered 13 kilometres.
The racers will race through the typically Dutch setting of Amsterdam canals and bridges on their route from Museumplein, passing the Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum, to the Olympic Stadium in the south of the city.
Deputy mayor Carolien Gehrels: “Amsterdam loves both the bicycle and top-level sport making it the ideal city to host the start of this prestigious international cycling event. Amsterdam is looking forward with excitement to the beginning of May."
Second and third stage
On Sunday, 9 May, the second stage will also leave from Museumplein, but this time for a 213-kilometre journey right to the heart of Utrecht. And on Monday, 10 May, the riders will start from the Financial District of Amsterdam, the Zuidas, and head for the city of Middelburg.
It is the second time the tour has started in the Netherlands: in 2002 the Giro d’Italia started in Groningen.
Photos: Amsterdam canal, Stage 1 map
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Thanks for posting the information about the start of the giro d'italia. Should be a good event!
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