Giro d'Italia Stage 1 Route Map - Venice Lido

Giro d'Italia Stage 1 Route Map Venice Lido- May 9, 2009

The Giro d'Italia bike race starts in Venice this Saturday with the stage 1 20.5km Team Time Trial on the Venice Lido, which is just across the water from Venice.

Lance Armstrong and his Astana team had insisted he would be trying to win in Italy, but a crash and broken collarbone at the Tour of Castilla and Leon in March put those dreams to rest. Although Lance Armstrong has won 7 Tour de France, he has never raced the Giro d'Italia. There were even doubts about whether he would make the starting line in Italy but he will be there and riding for team-mate and compatriot Levi Leipheimer, whilst looking for stage victories.

"Of course breaking my collarbone has changed my ambitions for the Giro, but I look forward to that race," said Armstrong. "I can ride without pressure in an event that I've always wanted to do and I can try to help Levi win. The first priority is to protect Levi and make sure that he fulfills his potential." Armstrong, who is famous for dating actress Ashley Olsen, Singer Sheryl Crow, and actress Kate Hudson, is expecting a baby with girlfriend Anna Hensen.

Leipheimer, who has won the Tour of California and the Tour of Castilla and Leon this season, is an experienced three-week Tour rider who finished second in last year's Tour of Spain and third in the Tour de France in 2007.

Leipheimer will have former Giro winners Ivan Basso, Damiano Cunego, Danilo Di Luca and Gilberto Simoni as competition and he knows his toughest challenge will come from home team Italy's racers.

"The Italians are super focused on it, and they know the Giro in and out," said Leipheimer, who finished 18th in this race last year. "With the Giro, we'll just take it day by day, kilometer by kilometre and just sort of have fun and do our best."

Basso seems to be the early favorite. The 31-year-old Italian Liquigas rider won the race by a huge margin in 2006 before he got caught up in the Operation Puerto scandal and was banned for two years. His closest competition could come from 27-year-old Cunego of Lampre, who won the race in 2004 and has shown good stage race form this year in winning the week-long Coppi e Bartali. LPR Brakes's Di Luca, the 2007 winner, could be amongst the front runners as could reigning Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre.

For all the Giro d'Italia 2009 stage maps and Giro d'Italia route map click Italy Inside.

Click WebVisionItaly.com for Venice video and the region of Veneto video including shows about the Scrovegni Chapel and the Bo University in Padua, Palladio's architecture in Vicenza, and the ancient Romans in Verona to Romeo and Juliet the famous lovers of Verona.

For more about the Giro d'Italia including where to find the Giro d'Italia webvision click universalsports.com or SteepHill.TV.