ROTTERDAM, Dec 11: Cyclists will ride in a 9-kilometre time trial through the streets and across three bridges in Rotterdam for the opening stage of the 2010 Tour de France.

The start of cycling’s premier event returns to the Netherlands for the fifth time and the first time since 1996, race chief Christian Prudhomme said on Thursday at a theater whose stage was set for a musical production of Victor Hugo’s classic Les Miserables. The 2009 race starts in the wealthy principality of Monaco on the Mediterranean Sea and all eyes will be on Lance Armstrong, the seven-time champion returning to the grueling event for the first time since his last victory in 2005.—AP