Denmark TV2 reported Denmark is bidding to host the Grand Depart of the 2018 Tour de France. The offer "is being taken seriously" by Tour de France Dir Christian Prudhomme, "who is set to travel to Denmark" to meet with PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen later this month. The organizers are offering a reported 90M kroner ($13M) to host three stages. They propose a "prologue in Copenhagen followed by a road stage from Roskilde to Odense that would traverse the Great Belt Bridge," and a third stage from Vejle to Sønderborg (CYCLING NEWS, 11/13). ... A $500,000 bonus has been launched with the hope of "stimulating transatlantic competition in jump racing." The initiative is a partnership between Cheltenham, home of jump racing in Britain, and The Iroquois, a race meeting staged near Nashville, Tenn. The bonus be will awarded to any horse which can win both the Grade One Ladbrokes World Hurdle (3m) at the Festival in March and the Grade One Calvin Houghland Iroquois Hurdle (3m), which is part of the 75th Iroquois Steeplechase in May (London DAILY MAIL, 11/15). ... Japanese rugby bosses received "another blow to their reputation" after Friday's Top League season opener was played out in front of a "half-empty stadium" in Tokyo with supporters "told the game was sold out and turned away." The Japan Rugby Football Union had said it had sold "around 20,000 tickets for the fixture" (REUTERS, 11/14). ... Australia qualified to contest the inaugural men’s rugby sevens Gold Medal at next year's Olympic Games. The team grabbed its "cherished Rio berth by thrashing Tonga 50-0 in the final" (AAP, 11/15). ... Organizers are "hopeful" the United States Grand Prix will continue to be held in Austin, Texas "despite a reduction in the race budget." Texas had contributed $25M a year to costs since '12, but that sum was cut by 20% this year. Organizers said, "The grand prix has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in positive economic impact" (BBC, 11/12).
