Kicking Off the 2010 Tour: A Rotterdam Rendezvous

Kicking Off the 2010 Tour: A Rotterdam Rendezvous

Picture this: July 3rd, 2010. The air buzzes with anticipation. The place? Rotterdam, Netherlands. That’s right, the 97th edition of the legendary Tour de France didn’t start in France that year! It was a rare trip up north, marking the first Dutch visit since ’96.

The Grand Départ was a short, sharp shock to the system: an 8.9-kilometer individual time trial. Imagine the riders, one by one, blasting off from Zuidplein, legs burning as they raced towards the finish near the Ahoy congress center. And who took the early lead? None other than Fabian Cancellara, setting the stage for what promised to be an epic race.

But the Dutch adventure didn’t end there. The first few stages were designed as a nod to the Spring Classics – those brutal one-day races known for their tough terrain. We’re talking cobblestones, wind, and the kind of conditions that separate the strong from the pretenders. Stage 1 saw the peloton head from Rotterdam to Brussels, followed by a Belgian leg from Brussels to Spa. Talk about a scenic route!

All in all, the 2010 Tour covered a staggering 3,642 kilometers (that’s 2,263 miles for those of us who think in miles). A good chunk of that was against the clock, with 60.9 kilometers dedicated to time trials. The race snaked its way through the Netherlands, Belgium, and, of course, France, before the grand finale on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on July 25th.

Now, here’s where the story takes a twist. Initially, Alberto Contador crossed the finish line as the victor. However, controversy struck when a doping test came back positive. After a long legal battle, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) made the tough call in February 2012: Contador was stripped of his title. This elevated Andy Schleck to the winner’s circle, a bittersweet victory after a hard-fought race.