Rotterdam swathed in yellow for Tour de France prologue

The Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam was illuminated in yellow on Thursday night by Ahmed Aboutaleb, the mayor of the Dutch city that will host the Tour de France 2010 on Saturday, July 3. Rotterdam has lost no time preparing for the fest.

In the presence of several former major champions, including Dutchman Joop Zoetemelk and Frenchmen Bernard Hinault and Bernard Thevenet, Aboutaleb lit the iconic landmark of the city port, a cable-stayed bridge linking the northern and southern halves of Rotterdam. The bridge will  remain yellow until July.

Tour director Christian Prudhomme said that this was the first time that a prologue city celebrated an upcoming Grand Depart in this manner. “The city of Rotterdam demonstrated professionalism and enthusiasm that will make (this) great departure one of the largest festivals in the history of the Tour. I am absolutely convinced that the Dutch are bike crazy,” he said at a ceremony at City Hall.

Rotterdam has invested 12 million Euros to host the Tour de France and hopes to receive benefits valued at 40 million euros, said a deputy mayor, Lucas Bolcius. After the prologue (on Saturday in the downtown), the first stage of the race on July 5th will travel from Rotterdam to Brussels.

Tags: 2010 tour de france, Brussels, EUR, France, prologue, Rotterdam, The Tour, Tour de France News