King Willem-Alexander Attends Start of Giro D’Italia 2016

This afternoon, Friday May 6, His Majesty King Willem-Alexander was present at the kick off of the 99th edition of the Giro d’Italia in Apeldoorn, in the province of Gelderland. The cycling race started with a 9.8 kilometer time trial.

The King visited the paddocks of some team and then followed the race in a supporting vehicle.

Koning bij start van de 99e editie van de @giroditalia in Apeldoorn, @girogelderland https://t.co/brt3ieZpLF pic.twitter.com/kzTda9ST3b

— Koninklijk Huis (@koninklijkhuis) May 6, 2016

The Dutch cyclist Tom Dumoulin, from the Team Giant–Alpecin, was the winner of the first race and he also took the first Maglia Rosa of the Giro d’Italia. King Willem-Alexander attended the prize giving ceremony and congratulated with the winner.

The King said to the press: “Tom Dumoulin’s performance was wonderful. It was a privilege to stand on the podium of this beautiful opening stage of the Giro. We saw Apeldoorn, Gelderland and the entire country at their very best today.”

There will be two more stages of the Giro d’Italia in The Netherlands: on Saturday, May 7 the second stage of Arnhem to Nijmegen and he third stage from Nijmegen to Arnhem on Sunday, May 8. This is the third time that the Giro d’Italia has its opening race in The Netherlands: the first time was in Groningen in 2002 and the second time in Amsterdam in 2010.

Filed under The Netherlands
Tagged King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands, Sport.