Un departure from the other side of the Alps. This Saturday, June 29, the 176 riders taking part in the Tour de France meet in Florence, Italy. The start of three weeks of racing that should take the cyclists to Nice, on July 21. For the first time since 1975, the Tour de France will not finish on the Champs-Élysées because of the Paris Olympic Games, which will begin five days later.
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This departure from abroad is far from being an exception, and the trend has accelerated in recent years. This is the third departure in a row from abroad after Copenhagen in 2022 and Bilbao in 2023. In the 21ste century, the Grande Boucle has started 13 times from a country other than France. A new departure outside France is already planned since Barcelona will host the start of the Tour in 2026. But why is the Tour de France so interesting for other countries?
An important recipe for the organization
No matter which country the cycling competition starts from, one thing is clear: the crowds are there. Every foreign start is a popular success. And there is an economic interest for ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation), which develops the route every year. Without any official figures being revealed, some municipalities are ready to align themselves with the requirements of the Tour. Hosting the start of a classic stage costs 60,000 euros. The sum is greater for a major start, which attracts much more light. Because the counterpart is there: exposure throughout the world since the Tour de France is the third most broadcast sporting event in the world.
On Europe 1, in May, Christian Prudhomme, the boss of the Grande Boucle, explained that “starting from abroad makes the Tour shine more”. The choice can also have a symbolic dimension. As it happens, this year is the hundredth anniversary of the first Italian victory on the Tour thanks to Ottavio Bottecchia.
For the moment, the Tour de France has only started from Western European countries. The most distant places have been West Berlin in 1987, Dublin in 1998 or Leeds, in the north of England, in 2014 and, more recently, Denmark in 2022. Conversely, the Tour of Italy s He is tempted to be more original with a start from Israel in 2018 and from Hungary in 2022. The organizers of the Italian race would have received 10 million euros to export their start to the Hebrew state.
But it is impossible to imagine the Tour starting from a country on the other side of the world because this is forbidden by the International Cycling Union (UCI): a major Tour start cannot be more than four hours away by plane and more than two hours of time difference.
