By Becky Waring

The Tour de France is cycling's biggest race, but the Giro D'Italia (Tour of Italy) is a close second. Both are three-week "Grand Tours" around their respective countries, although the Giro is generally considered more of a climber's race than the Tour, as it has more mountain stages.

This year, the Giro may even eclipse the Tour thanks to 7-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong's comeback, as well as the 100th anniversary of the race. Lance will compete in the Giro for the first time ever, and almost all the top Tour riders have decided to enter the race with him simply to share the huge spotlight that will shine on his first Grand Tour after almost four years of retirement. The opportunity to "beat Lance" is all too irresistible.

No less than 7 Grand Tour champions will try to out cycle the champ, making it arguably the strongest field of contenders ever in a stage race. In addition to Armstrong, the race will feature Carlos Sastre (winner of the 2008 Tour), Gilberto Simoni (winner of two Giros), Denis Menchov (winner of two Vueltas, or Tours of Spain), plus Ivan Basso, Damiano Cunego, Danilo de Luca and Stefano Garzelli (one Giro each). The only top stage racer missing will be Alberto Contador, Armstrong's teammate on Astana and winner of the 2007 Tour and 2008 Giro and Vuelta. Contador is skipping the Giro in favor of the Tour this year.

The excitement starts on the famous Lido of Venice on May 9 and ends in Rome on May 31 after 21 stages and 3395 kilometers. The Lido is the island that separates the city from the Adriatic, and the first stage will be a team time trial along the waterfront, perfect for spectators. Time trials are purely measured by timed races, rather than races in a pack where breakaways and sprint finishes are common. In a team time trial, all nine riders in each team form a paceline, rotating off the front wind-breaking position one by one in an amazing display of speed and coordination--they are separated only by inches when going an average of 50 kph. Armstrong excels at time trials, and his Astana team will be a favorite in this discipline, along with Garmin and Saxo Bank, both of which are loaded with top performing time trialists.

Other great stages to watch will include the individual time trials in Sestri Levante (May 21) and Rome and the 6 mountain-top finishes in San Martino di Castrozza (May 12), Alpe di Siusi (May 13), San Luca (May 23), Monte Petrano (May 25), Blockhaus (May 27) and Mount Vesuvius (May 29). Mount Vesuvius is the famous volcano that wiped out Pompei, and both the ruins of Pompei and the beautiful coastal city of Naples are nearby. The final time trial in Rome will pass even more hallowed ground: the Porta Pia, Piazza del Popolo, Piazza Venezia and the Coliseum. Expect Lance to go all out here in his strongest discipline, no matter if he is in the pink jersey at this point.

While the 2009 Giro promises to be the most exciting ever on a sporting level (will Lance be able to come back at age 37 and win a race he has never done before?), it will also be a true Grand Tour for sightseers, running through some of the most beautiful and historic terrain Italy has to offer, from the Dolomites in the north to the Appenines in the south, as well as along both coasts.

And iPass is there for all of it, from Venice, with its 35 hotspots including the historic Danieli and Gritti Palace (as well as Marco Polo Airport) hotels, to Rome, with 135 locations featuring 85 top hotels.

You can't go wrong on this Roman holiday. Arrivederci!