Friday 26 June 2015 17:10, UK
The 2016 Giro d’Italia will begin in the Netherlands, where the organisers revealed will play host to the first three days of cycling.
It is the 12th time the Giro has started outside of Italy and it will be the third time it will be in the Netherlands, following on from the success of the 2002 and 2010 races.
The 99th edition of the Giro gets under way on May 6 with an 8.1km individual time-trial at Apeldoorn, which hosted both the world and European track cycling championships in 2011 and 2013 respectively.
The following two stages are Arnhem to Nijmegen near to the German border and then back again the following day.
With the inclusion of the Netherlands in the Giro, the calendar will be extended by an extra day to allow a long transfer to the South of Italy on May 9.
“We are really happy to start the Giro d’Italia from the Netherlands for the third time in the race’s history,” Giro race director Mauro Vegni said.
“The Province of Gelderland showed how intensely it wanted the Corsa Rosa and beat the competition of other important candidates.
“There couldn’t be a better way of proceeding in the internationalisation process of the Giro that, in the last few years, has seen the Big Start alternating between Italy and abroad, all without overlooking the south of Italy.”
This will be the second major cycling event staged in the Netherlands in two years as the Tour de France have scheduled two stages there, including the Grand Depart from Utrecht.