Reims joins race to host 2028 Tour de France Grand Départ
Reims, which is the most populous city in the Marne region, and the 12th most populous in France, last featured in the Tour back in 2019, when the race paid a visit to the region in the opening week.
Reims are in contention to host the Grand Départ of the 2028 Tour de France after the Cité des Sacres and the Grand Est region officially submitted their bid to Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme, the director of the Tour, on December 22.
"This would be a great opportunity for the Grand Est, for Reims and Champagne," said Franck Leroy, President of the General Council of the Grand Est, in quotes collected by France 3.
"It is the third most-watched sporting event in the world after the Olympic Games and the Football World Cup. "There are thousands of journalists, hundreds of millions of spectators. It's a great spotlight on Champagne."
Arnaud Robinet, mayor of Reims, also shared his excitement about the prospect. “This is a project shared with Franck Leroy to showcase our region, Reims, Épernay, part of the Marne department, and all these vineyards and this exceptional heritage. If we are selected, there will then be time to work on the routes with Christian Prudhomme and his entire team.”
The French city will have its work cut out since Luxembourg has already thrown their name into the hat, with a bid that has been backed by Kim Kirchen, Andy and Fränk Schleck, in an attempt to host the start of the Tour for the first time since 2002. Prague, Czech Republic, were also reportedly interested.
With multiple candidates in contention, Prudhomme confirmed that “We will study this application for 2028 very carefully. It will be announced before the next Tour de France.”
Lille hosting the start of the race in 2025 was only the third time the race began on home soil in the 2020s, and the next few editions will once more start on foreign soil. Next year’s edition will begin in Barcelona, Spain, and it has also been confirmed that the race will kick off in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, in 2027.
If Luxembourg win the bid to host the 2028 Grand Départ, it will be the second time this decade that three consecutive editions start on foreign soil, something that had never happened before the 2020s.
Consequently, French cities have pushed back on the idea of having three consecutive foreign starts, and this is illustrated by Leroy. “The Tour will have been in Edinburgh and Barcelona. I think the alternation between France and abroad is something important. The ball is in Christian Prudhomme's camp now.”
The 2028 Tour is also set for the earliest start since 1966 to avoid clashing with the Los Angeles Olympics, which kick off on 14 July. To combat this, the Tour is set to begin a week earlier than usual on June 23 and finish on July 16, which is just three days before the Olympic time trial events on July 19.
