Giro d’Italia organisers have unveiled the opening three stages of the 2012 race, which will start in Denmark for the first time.

The Giro begins on Saturday May 5, getting underway with a 8.7km individual time trial in the city of Herning.

The first road stage also starts and finishes in Herning, taking in a 206km loop out to the wind-battered coast. The final Danish stage starts and finishes in Horsen, with the 190km route running along Horsens Fjord and finishing with a city-centre loop.

“From the very first day, we have experienced a great involvement and a high degree of professionalism on the Danish organisers’ part and, certainly, the route designed for the first three stages of the Giro d’Italia 2012 reflects this,” said Giro race director Michele Acquarone, who replaced Angelo Zomegnan earlier this year.

The 2012 route will be presented in full on October 16, but the race is already beginning to take shape, with Acquarone last month revealing the penultimate stage will climb to the highest point in Grand Tour history – finishing at the summit of the Passo Stelvio at 2,832m.

The final week will also feature the Passo Giau (2,236m) on a testing stage in the Dolomites on May 23. The 187km route will see the peloton tackle four mountain passes,  taking in the Passo Valparola, Passo Duran and Forcella Staulanza, before the finale on the Passo Giau, a 9.9km ascent with an average gradient of 9.3 per cent.