The 2010 Tour de France will begin from the Dutch city of Rotterdam, organisers have said.
In a statement to the press, organisers said that the choice would promote inner-city cycling, adding that Rotterdam "adheres perfectly to the route we imagine for the 2010 Tour".
Rotterdam lodged a bid to host the start of the 2010 event, along with neighbour Utrecht, following London's successful Grand Depart in 2007. The Tour de France last started from the Netherlands in 1996, when it began in s'Hertogenbosch.
The 97th Tour begins on 3 July 2010. More details are set to be unveiled in December.
