Over the weekend the Giro d’Italia, one of professional cycling’s three grand tours, kicked off in the Netherlands, much like the 2012 installment could well see its opening stages take place in the District. While local officials and race organizers gathered in the city earlier this year to talk up the prospects, one cycling director isn’t too keen on the idea.

In a posting on his blog titled “Grand Tours Should Stay in Europe,” Johan Bruyneel, a former professional cyclist and current team director, chimed in to say that he thinks bringing the Giro to the District isn’t wise.

Speaking of the Giro and racing in America – The Giro is considering to start the 2012 edition in Washington DC. Personally, I believe this is not a good idea. I am a strong believer in globalization, but bringing a Grand Tour to another continent is not beneficial for the teams and riders. We need to balance the interests of everyone, but not to the point where you are transfering on a plane for 7 plus hours, on top of a significant time change. A Grand Tour of three weeks is already very demanding. The travels, the jetlag, logistically it is all over the top. I understand we need to commercialize our sport, but not at the expense of riders’ health. There must be other ways for us to make the sport more appealing to fans and sponsors. But in the end, organizers do what they want. They never listen to riders or teams. When will we all work together for the greater good?

If this were just any team director, one might be able to dismiss the criticism. But Bruyneel’s pedigree and influence in the sport is undeniable — he has produced eight Tour de France wins, among them the seven consecutive victories racked up by Lance Armstrong, whom he continues to direct on his new Team RadioShack squad. When Bruyneel speaks, people tend to listen.

And then there’s Armstrong, who could easily make or break the Giro’s coming to America. While Armstrong seemed enthralled by the idea when it was first mentioned late last year, Giro organizers and Armstrong have had something of a rocky relationship since 2009, when the American cyclist led a mutiny of sorts that saw the peloton ride an entire stage at warm-up pace to protest dangerous route conditions. Additionally, Team RadioShack wasn’t invited to the Giro this year, opting instead to race the Tour of California starting next week. If both Bruyneel and Armstrong come out against the Giro’s D.C. start, it could very well not happen.

Hat tip to DCist reader Matt Trojan for the tip.