Blythe to race Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour

Britain's Adam Blythe will start his first Grand Tour when he lines up for stage one of the Giro d'Italia on Saturday in Amsterdam. Team Omega Pharma-Lotto confirmed Blythe as part of its nine-man team today.

"This year will be a 'scholastic' race for many of our young riders," Sports Director Robert Damiani told Tuttobiciweb. "They will have the chance to understand what a Giro d'Italia is."

Blythe introduced himself to Omega Pharma via its feeder team Davo last year. This spring, the 20-year-old from Sheffield rode for Philippe Gilbert and Leif Hoste at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

He will be able to draw upon the experience of Brit Charles Wegelius, who will start his eighth Giro d'Italia. They will ride to support the team's classification leader, Australian Matthew Lloyd.

"Certainly, you learn more when you are performing well and so we will try to make a name for ourselves with some results," continued Damiani. "Already tomorrow, we wil meet in Zolder [Belgium] for three days of work for the prologue and the team time trial."

Jan Bakelants, Françis De Greef, Michiel Elijzen, Olivier Kaisen, Sebastian Lang and Daniel Moreno complete the team.

The Giro d'Italia starts in The Netherlands, but continues in Italy with stage four, the 32.5-kilometre team time trial. As always, mountain stages in the Dolomites and Alps mark the Giro d'Italia. The final week includes the Zoncolan, Plan de Corones, Mortirolo and Gavia climbs.

Related links

Giro d'Italia 2010: Cycling Weekly's coverage index

2010 Giro d'Italia coverage in association with Zipvit