Tour de France confirms Reims as 2028 Grand Départ host for earliest start in decades

Reims is officially set to host the Grand Départ of the 2028 Tour de France. The announcement was confirmed on Monday.

The confirmation completes the race's opening trilogy for the coming years. Barcelona will host the 2026 Grand Départ, kicking off with a team time trial on 4 July.

The United Kingdom will kick off the 2027 edition, with three stages in three different countries. The race will begin in Edinburgh, Scotland, before travelling into England for a finish in Carlisle. Stage 2 will begin in the Lake District in Keswick before heading to Liverpool, and stage 3 will take place in Wales, beginning in Welshpool and finishing in the capital Cardiff. 

Following these two foreign starts, the Tour will begin on home soil in Reims, for the first time since 2025 when Lille hosted the start. 

The 2028 Grand Départ will connect six stage cities: Charleville-Mézières, Épernay, Metz, Reims, Thionville and Verdun in the Grand Est Region.

The city previously hosted stage 3 of the 2022 Tour de France Femmes, won by Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, and last welcomed the men's race in 2019, when it hosted the start of stage 4, which was won by Elia Viviani.

Notably, the city has been a haven for fast men in the 21st century; its last three male stage winners were all pure sprinters: André Greipel (2014), Alessandro Petacchi (2010), and Robbie McEwen (2002).

In the press release, ASO stated: "The peloton will roll out of Reims for the inaugural stage on Saturday, 24 June 2028, with the event running on a modified schedule to accommodate the Olympics."

The Los Angeles Olympics open on Friday, 14 July 2028. The Olympic cycling schedule drops almost immediately after, with the men’s and women’s time trials on Wednesday, 19 July, followed by the road races on 22 and 23 July. 

This compressed timeline leaves a razor thin turnaround for riders attempting to target glory in both France and the United States. For someone like Remco Evenepoel, it could mean having just three days between finishing the Tour de France, travelling to the United States, and lining up to defend his Olympic time trial title.

General Director of the Tour de France, Christian Prudhomme, stated in the press release, "The peloton still remembers the cycling battles that have unfolded here, and the favourites will have to take matters into their own hands from the first few days of the Tour. Remembrance will also be front and centre when we visit Charleville-Mézières and Verdun on our way to Thionville and Moselle. The wars that have ravaged these lands inspired Arthur Rimbaud to write his hauntingly beautiful sonnet Le Dormeur du Val. Amid the memorial sites, the Tour will pay tribute to this heritage and commemorate its own history, particularly in Metz, which became the first foreign city to host the race at the dawn of the 20th century."