The 2012 Giro d’Italia will start in western Denmark.

The Giro will begin with a prologue in Herning on 5 May, followed the day after with a second stage in the flat hinterland with a start and finish in Herning, Giacomo Catano of race organiser RCS Sport said yesterday.

The riders will move to the nearby city of Horsens for a third stage before transferring to complete the rest of the race in Italy.

In 2010, the Giro started with a time trial in Amsterdam. This year’s edition starts in Turin.

Herning Mayor Lars Krarup said the city had also tried to attract the start of the Tour de France but in vain.

His colleague from Horsens, Jan Trojborg, said getting the Giro was “huge for us.”

Herning, 170 miles (270 kilometres) west of Copenhagen, is the hometown of team Saxo Bank-Sungard owner Bjarne Riis, who in 2007 admitted using performance-enhancing drugs to win the 1996 Tour de France.