Florence will hold a baptism in the Grand Départ of the Tour de France
Rumors, previews, rumors… by now it seems clear, only officiality is really missing, but the departure of the Tour de France as regards the next edition, will take place from Italy.
Already in early June the Gazzetta dello sport had launched more of what is now not a hypothesis, but reality. Today other confirmations arrive from the rest of the Carlino who adds other important details. According to what we read in the columns of the Bolognese, negotiations to bring the official start of the Grande Boucle in Italy daily to the details. The director of the Tour de France, Christian Prudhomme, has also already sent his trusted men to carry out inspections at the scheduled stage locations, for a route that has almost already been studied and conceived.
The start of the 111th edition (which should also be historic for the place of arrival, Nice and not Paris) will be given on Saturday 29 June in Florence, starting from Piazzale Michelangelo, towards Rimini. The second stage will be steeped in memories and emotion. It will start, in fact, from Cesenatico, exactly from the monument to Marco Pantani, to remember the champion who in 1998 wrote dedicated indelible pages of cycling history in the Yellow Jersey.
20 years after the death of the “Pirate”, therefore, we will experience the Cesenatico-Bologna, which will anticipate the third stage, also in Emilia-Romagna, or the Modena-Piacenza. The fourth and last stage, finally, should start from Pinerolo (to celebrate the “Campionissimo” Fausto Coppi) to conclude in French territory.
The Grande Boucle will therefore pay homage to Italy and our home cycling in an edition that, as usual, promises emotion and spectacle.