Hotels in Amsterdam

Lance Armstrong to miss Giro, May 2010

Giro d’Italia in Amsterdam, a long distance road bicycle racing stage race (the world’s second-biggest stage race) for professional cyclists, will be held over three weeks in May. After a race along the canals in Amsterdam, the first round will finish in the Olympic Stadium (built for the Olympic Games of 1928 held in Amsterdam). This will be either May 7 or 8, 2010.

The start of this famous Italian bicycle race in Amsterdam means that the 3 important bicycle races in Europe will all start in the Netherlands. The Tour of Spain (Vuelta a España) will start at the end of August in the east-Dutch town of Assen, and the Tour de France, the most famous of them all, will start in Rotterdam, July 2010.

Giro is an important event in Amsterdam as it means a lot of visitors leading to a lot of foreign exchange income. However, Lance Armstrong is expected to miss next May’s Giro d’Italia as he has announced that he will race in the Tour of California.

“I’ve decided to ride the Tour of California in 2010,” the American told Twitter

Armstrong had raced this year’s Giro for the first time as part of his comeback after three-and-a-half years in retirement. He ended up 12th before going on to finish third in the Tour de France, which he had won previously won seven times.