Everyone knows of Tour de France. It's the bike race of bike races. The two other races on par with the Tour de France are Vuelta a España and the Giro d'Italia. One of those races is coming to DC! The Giro d'Italia organizers have decided to stage one portion in the District of Columbia. If all goes well, in May of 2012, the streets in front of the White House, National Mall, Wilson Building, National Archives, Kennedy Center, Rock Creek Park and Arlington National Cemetery will close for some of the world's best riders. Last year's total race distance was 3,418 km, or about 2,124 miles!
The prologue, or first stage, of the May/June race will be held in DC and the riders would then fly back to Italy to resume the remainder of the race after a full day of rest. The racing in DC would be for one day only.
This is an attempt to grow the sport of cycling outside of the European continent. Sort of like what the NFL tried with the World League of American Football, but not as garish and bloated. And in a much smaller dose. Stupid Americans. I kid, I kid. Hold the hate mail.
DC will appreciate the Giro and if we can pull this thing off, I see multiple visits in out future. Maybe Lance should start getting ready now.
