2017 Tour de France

2016 Tour de France
Race details
Dates 1 July 2017 (2017-07-01)–23 July 2017 (2017-07-23)
Stages 21
Palmares

The 2017 Tour de France is a three-week Grand Tour cycling stage race that will take place principally in France between 1 and 23 July 2017.

The race will begin with an individual time trial in Düsseldorf on 1 July, with the following two stages also taking place in Germany.

Route

The start of the 2017 Tour (known as the Grand Depart) was originally scheduled to be in London; this would have been the third time the Tour had visited London, following the 2007 and 2014 editions. In September 2015, a week before this was due to be announced, Transport for London pulled out of the bid.[1] It was later revealed that this was the decision of the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, on the grounds of cost: hosting the Grand Depart would have cost GB£35 million.[2]

In December 2015, ASO announced that the Grand Depart would take place with three stages based in Düsseldorf in Germany; this will be the fourth time that the Tour has begun in Germany and the first since 1987. The bid to host the Tour was only narrowly approved by the city council. The return to Germany followed a resurgence in German cycling, with riders including Tony Martin, Marcel Kittel and John Degenkolb[3] On 14 January 2016, details of the opening two stages were announced. The first stage would be a 13-kilometre (8.1 mi) individual time trial in Düsseldorf itself, with Martin immediately one of the favourites to win the stage and to take the first yellow jersey of the Tour. The second stage would also begin in Düsseldorf, with more details of the stage still to be revealed.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "London says no to hosting 2017 Grand Depart". VeloNews (Competitor Group, Inc.). 28 September 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  2. ↑ Clarke, Stuart (29 September 2015). "Boris Johnson reveals he pulled the plug on London's Tour de France bid". Cycling Weekly (Time Inc. UK). Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  3. ↑ Hood, Andrew (22 December 2015). "2017 Tour to begin with Dusseldorf time trial". VeloNews (Competitor Group, Inc.). Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  4. ↑ "2017 Tour to begin with Dusseldorf time trial". VeloNews (Competitor Group, Inc.). 14 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.

External links

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