The 2017 Tour de France will begin in the German city of Dusseldorf, according to the BBC. London turned down the chance to host the Grand Depart, "citing the cost of staging the event" -- reported to be about £35M ($51.8M) -- as the reason. It will be the first time since West Berlin in '87 that Germany has hosted the opening stage of road cycling's premier race. La Manche in northwest France will host the 2016 Grand Depart (BBC, 12/22).
GROWING POPULARITY: VELO NEWS' Andrew Hood reported the decision to return to Germany "comes on the heels of two developments." First, London officials "pulled the plug in September just days before it was going to be announced" that it would host the 2017 Tour start. The second is an "uptick of interest to the Tour among German media, including the return of national TV broadcasters," which pulled the plug in '11 on live broadcasts in the wake of doping scandals. A new generation of riders, such as Tony Martin, Marcel Kittel, and John Degenkolb, has "reignited trust in the sport and helped usher the return of live TV broadcasts" in '15. The Dusseldorf city council voted by a "narrow margin" last month to approve the plan to host the 2017 Tour. Tuesday’s announcement comes amid a "
new conflict" between Tour owners ASO and the Int'l Cycling Union (UCI) (
VELO NEWS, 12/22).
