Rotterdam and The Hague look to host the Tour de France Grand Départ in 2024 or 2025
Rotterdam is also hoping to host the final stage of the women's Tour de France in 2023
The Dutch cities of Rotterdam and The Hague have put themselves in the running to co-host the Grand Départ of the 2024 or 2025 Tour de France.
If they were picked it would be the third time in 15 years that the Netherlands had hosted the Tour. Rotterdam wishes to be the host for the opening prologue with stage one being hosted around The Hague.
The race organiser, ASO, will visit the area to review the bid as it looks to make its decision. The bid is said to be costing more than 20 million Euros.
>>> Mark Cavendish is ‘really close to winning’ says Deceuninck – Quick-Step sports director
Rotterdam has hosted the Tour before back in 2010 when Fabian Cancellara stormed to victory in the opening prologue to take the yellow jersey.
The Hague has had the Tour before as well, albeit back in 1973 where another prologue took place with Joop Zoetemelk the rider who came out on top to pull on yellow.
The Netherlands has hosted the Tour a total of six times with the capital of Amsterdam being the first to do so back in 1954. Scheveningen, Leiden, Den Bosch, Rotterdam and Utrecht followed over the next few decades.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Utrecht was meant to host the start of the Vuelta a España last year but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was unable to do so meaning the Spanish Grand Tour was cut down to 18 stages instead of the usual 21. The Dutch city has had to request to host again in the coming years.
Rotterdam is also wanting to be the finish location for the final stage of the women's Tour de France, or Tour Féminin, in 2023.
It is not yet fully clear that the race is, in fact, coming back to the women's calendar, but plans do look to be going ahead to hold the race in 2022.
The Tour de France will start in the Bretagne city of Brest in 2021 with Denmark's capital city, Copenhagen, holding the event in 2022 for what will likely be a sprint fest.
The Grand Départ in 2023 will also be held abroad, on that occasion by Bilbao in the Basque Country of Spain. This, if the Vuelta's opening stages of 2020 are anything to go by, is not likely to be a very sprinter-friendly start to three weeks of racing.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Hi, I'm one of Cycling Weekly's content writers for the web team responsible for writing stories on racing, tech, updating evergreen pages as well as the weekly email newsletter. Proud Yorkshireman from the UK's answer to Flanders, Calderdale, go check out the cobbled climbs!
I started watching cycling back in 2010, before all the hype around London 2012 and Bradley Wiggins at the Tour de France. In fact, it was Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck's battle in the fog up the Tourmalet on stage 17 of the Tour de France.
It took me a few more years to get into the journalism side of things, but I had a good idea I wanted to get into cycling journalism by the end of year nine at school and started doing voluntary work soon after. This got me a chance to go to the London Six Days, Tour de Yorkshire and the Tour of Britain to name a few before eventually joining Eurosport's online team while I was at uni, where I studied journalism. Eurosport gave me the opportunity to work at the world championships in Harrogate back in the awful weather.
After various bar jobs, I managed to get my way into Cycling Weekly in late February of 2020 where I mostly write about racing and everything around that as it's what I specialise in but don't be surprised to see my name on other news stories.
When not writing stories for the site, I don't really switch off my cycling side as I watch every race that is televised as well as being a rider myself and a regular user of the game Pro Cycling Manager. Maybe too regular.
My bike is a well used Specialized Tarmac SL4 when out on my local roads back in West Yorkshire as well as in northern Hampshire with the hills and mountains being my preferred terrain.
-
Five things to look out for ahead of the Tour of Flanders
Lidl-Trek's impressive form and Mathieu van der Poel's explosive start to the Classics season could make for quite the contest this weekend
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
A bikepacking trip is the perfect way to see the last viewable solar eclipse in the U.S. for 20 years - here's how
Following a 115-mile-wide path, the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse will last just under four-and-a-half minutes and can be viewed from multiple U.S. midwest and east coast bike routes
By Kristin Jenny Published
-
Mathieu van der Poel not intimidated by Tadej Pogačar’s form ahead of Milan-San Remo clash
Dutchman starts his 2024 road season at Italian Monument on Saturday
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'I pulled it off and turned everything around' - Brandon McNulty on the ride that changed him
US star grabbed his first ever Grand Tour win at last year’s Giro d’Italia
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Matteo Jorgenson, Visma-Lease a Bike’s new star, continues to impress at Paris-Nice
The American could step into the leaders yellow jersey on Tuesday evening after stage three’s team time trial in Auxerre
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers delighted with Egan Bernal’s late cameo on stage one of Paris-Nice
Colombian snapped up key bonus seconds in the general classification battle on run in to Les Mureaux
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'He’s making history': Paris-Nice reacts to Strade Bianche masterclass from Tadej Pogačar
'He can still surprise us all the time’ João Almeida on Pogačar's performance in Tuscany
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'You have to be open to everything' - Primož Roglič ahead of his Bora-Hansgrohe debut at Paris-Nice
Roglič up against Remco Evenepoel for the first time in 2024 as he gets set for a return to the Tour de France
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert impress in Portugal ahead of bigger tests
Evenepoel starts season in fine form ahead of Tour de France debut this summer
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Tao Geoghegan Hart ready for ‘unknown’ as he begins new ‘adventure’ at Lidl-Trek
British rider set to make racing comeback at Volta ao Algarve on Wednesday, nine months after serious crash
By Tom Thewlis Published