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| Giro d'Italia: Opening ceremony takes place in Belfast | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The opening ceremony of the Giro d'Italia cycle race has taken place in Belfast. | |
| About 5,500 members of the public gathered at City Hall for the event that saw each of the 22 cycle teams introduced on stage. | |
| The race itself gets under way on Friday in Belfast with a team time-trial. | The race itself gets under way on Friday in Belfast with a team time-trial. |
| It is one of three stage routes that are taking place at the Causeway Coast and Armagh. | It is one of three stage routes that are taking place at the Causeway Coast and Armagh. |
| After passing through Armagh on Monday, the cyclists will cross the border and with the stage finishing in Dublin. | |
| After passing through Armagh on Monday, the cyclists will cross the border and end the stage in Dublin. | |
| The opening ceremony marked the start of the Giro d'Italia in Northern Ireland after 14 months of preparation. | |
| In February 2013, it was confirmed Northern Ireland had beaten off a rival bid from Venice to secure the start of the race. | In February 2013, it was confirmed Northern Ireland had beaten off a rival bid from Venice to secure the start of the race. |
| Councils, tourism bodies and sponsorship both north and south of the border contributed £5.5m in funds for the bid. | Councils, tourism bodies and sponsorship both north and south of the border contributed £5.5m in funds for the bid. |
| The Giro d'Italia is one of cycling's most famous events and TV coverage is watched every year in 165 countries. | The Giro d'Italia is one of cycling's most famous events and TV coverage is watched every year in 165 countries. |
| It is one of the three grand tours in the cycling calendar, along with the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. | |
| Speaking at the opening ceremony, BBC cycling correspondent Matt Slater said: "The Giro is the second oldest, grand tour and probably the second biggest in terms of prestige. | |
| "It used to be neck-and-neck with the Tour de France, but in the last 20 or 30 years the Tour de France has got very big. | |
| "But the Giro is still very, very big and the people in Italy will not hear anybody say that the Tour de France is bigger than the Giro." | |
| He added: "These three stages in Northern Ireland are going to be fairly straightforward for the riders. But don't be downhearted about that, it's not a reflection on Northern Ireland or Ireland. | |
| "But if the wind picks up on the Antrim coast, then that stage could be quite tricky." |