Tour de France, 2010: Start set for Rotterdam, Netherlands

November 21, 3:40 PMCycling ExaminerJames Raia

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The Tour de France peloton usually includes cyclists from about two dozen countries. So it’s logical organizers continue to expand the event’s global audience.

Eight months before the 2009 event begins in Monaco, race organizers have announced the 2010 Tour de France departure will be in The Netherlands.

The 2010 Tour will start in Rotterdam, with city officials set to announce details Dec. 11 in the Dutch port city.

“Rotterdam is an important metropolitan area with assurance of success,” Tour director Christian Prudhomme told the international news service, Agence France-Press (AFP). “It’s doing everything so that people can get around on the bike. It’s in this spirit that the city wants the grand départ.”

Rotterdam was selected ahead of Utrecht, Holland, and Dusseldorf, Germany.

The departure in Holland will be the third Tour de France start outside of France in four years. The 2007 start was in London and the 2009 departure will be in the principality of Monaco.

Rotterdam will mark the fifth time the Tour de France has begun in a Dutch start. The last time was in 1996 in Hertogenbosch. Alex Zulle of Switzerland won the prologue.