Giro d'Italia begins

The Giro d'Italia is the first of the year's three large cycling tours, and it kicked off on Saturday with a team time trial in Venice.

The 100th edition of the Giro d'Italia will, no by means, be a simple ride in the park. The 21 stages cover 3,454 kilometres and, following the wishes of director Angelo Zomegnan, will have riders stop at all the sites of the maiden edition in 1909, including difficult stages through the Dolomites and Alps.

One rider who will be particularly fond of the mountain stages is Lance Armstrong, the man who has become the symbol of professional cycling over the past 15 years. The 37-year-old American rider has returned to cycling to promote his Livestrong cancer charity after three years in retirement. The Giro is part of his preparation for the Tour de France, and his aim to win his eighth tour. His dreams of also winning the Giro were dashed some two months ago when he shattered a collarbone in a crash.

That's not all Armstrong will be worrying about. The future of his Astana team is also under threat. The Kazakh-based team has been hit hard by the world economic crisis and riders have not been paid for months. At this stage, it is not certain of whether Astana will even be able to compete at the Tour in July.

There is talk of a takeover, but Armstrong is unsure.

"I am optimistic. Various American multinationals have shown interest in our project. Before the end of the Giro we will know if we will go ahead with Astana or not," Armstrong told reporters.

Doping clamp down

Meanwhile, Giro officials will be concerning themselves over an issue that will not go away: doping. Just days before the first stage, the Austrian champion, Christian Pfannberger tested positive a second time for erythropoietin (EPO) and was subsequently banned.

German rider Stefan Schumacher, who last year rode in the yellow jersey for two days of the Tour, was caught with CERA, a new version of EPO and has been banned from the sport for two years.

Giro organizers have promised to take a tough stand against doping this year.

Ahead of the race, Giro chief Angelo Zomegnan announced that 481 doping controls and several surprise tests would take place during the three-week race.

"We have made a step forward in terms of doping tests compared to the past," he said.

Author: John Kluempers/Catherine Graue

Editor: Andreas Illmer