Nairo Quintana (Movistar) with the Giro d'Italia trophy (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The Giro d'Italia 2016 "is almost certainly" starting in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, according to a report Friday morning in a Dutch newspaper. The provincial government has agreed to help finance the start, according to the organizing committee.
Apeldoorn is in north-central Netherlands, in the Gelderland province. S'Hertogenbosch had also expressed interest in hosting the Giro start, but recently withdrew for financial reasons. It was announced in May that a Netherlands start was expected.
Finances don't seem to be an issue for Apeldoorn. "The support in Apeldoorn as well as in the province is enormous," Martin de Kok, head of the organizing committee told destentor.nl. "Now that the province is financially participating, an Apeldoorn start will move to the top of the list at the RCS, the Italian Giro organizer."
The province is said to be chipping in up to six million Euro.
De Kok said he expected a final decision from the RCS in the next few weeks.
The Giro would stay in the Netherlands for three days, including the team presentation, a prologue in Apeldoorn and a stage finishing in Nijmegen. The Giro has previously started in the Netherlands twice: Amsterdam in 2010 and Groningen in 2002. The 2015 Tour de France is to start in Utrecht, Netherlands.
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