Luxembourg hopes to host the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in 2028. This Wednesday, Tour director Christian Prudhomme visits the Grand Duchy for a ‘decisive meeting’, according to the Luxembourgish newspaper L'essentiel. However, there are other candidates as well.
The Luxembourg government gave the green light in February for the bid to host the Grand Départ of the Tour in 2028. That year marks one hundred years since Luxembourg cycling great Nicolas Frantz won his second Tour de France, and seventy years since the possibly even greater legend, Charly Gaul, claimed the overall victory in the race. "Our aim is to put Luxembourg back on the map of European cycling," said Prime Minister Luc Frieden in February, also highlighting the 'significant economic and tourist impact' of the event.
Luxembourg has hosted the start of the Tour de France twice before, in 1989 and 2002. The last time the race passed through Luxembourg was in 2017, when stage four started in Mondorf-les-Bains.
Competition
Luxembourg is not yet certain to secure the Tour start in 2028. The Czech Republic is also still in the running, reports L'L'essentiel. The race would then start in Prague. The Czech bid’s trump card is that Škoda, a major Tour sponsor, comes from the country.
Furthermore, according to sources from the Luxembourgish newspaper, several French cities and regions are opposing three consecutive foreign starts. Next year’s Grand Départ will take place in Barcelona, and in 2027 Edinburgh will be the host. Slovenia aims to organize the Tour start in 2029.
