The Tour de France will start in Denmark in 2021, beginning with a ride in Copenhagen followed by two more stages around the country.
The opening stage on July 2 will be a 13-kilometer flat run around the capital.
"It is an honor to have the grand depart in Copenhagen," race director Christian Prudhomme said Thursday.
During a Tour de France press conference, with from left, Tour de France Director Christian Prudhomme, Mayor of Copenhagen Frank Jensen, Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen and Business Minister Rasmus Jarlov, hold a press conference on the Tour de France at Copenhagen City Hall, Thursday Feb. 21, 2019. The Tour de France has announced that the cycle race in 2021 will start in Denmark. (Mads Claus Rasmussen Scanpix 2019 via AP)
A 190-kilometer stage between Roskilde and Nyborg, a town on the island of Funen, will follow. That stage will include pedaling on the windy bridges that make up the Storebaelt rail-and-road link.
"The wind is very, very important for the race. It was important to have the finishing line close to the bridge," Prudhomme said. "Stage 2 is for sports enthusiasts."
The last stage before heading back to France will be in the hilly Jutland peninsula between the towns of Vejle and Soenderborg.
During a Tour de France press conference, with from left, Tour de France Director Christian Prudhomme, Mayor of Copenhagen Frank Jensen, Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen and Business Minister Rasmus Jarlov, hold a press conference on the Tour de France at Copenhagen City Hall, Thursday Feb. 21, 2019. The Tour de France has announced that the cycle race in 2021 will start in Denmark. (Mads Claus Rasmussen Scanpix 2019 via AP)
The contract for the 90 million kroner ($13.7 million) Danish start was signed Thursday by Prudhomme and Copenhagen Mayor Frank Jensen.
Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen, himself an avid cycling fan, called the Tour de France "the most iconic cycling race of all time."
Both Prudhomme and Loekke Rasmussen noted Denmark had been picked because of the country's interest in the race but also because many Danes bicycle to work and school every day. The Danish prime minister said ordinary people in Copenhagen bike "330 Tour de France races every day."
In 2011, the International Cycling Union held its Road World Championships in Copenhagen.
Other details of the 2021 Tour de France route were not disclosed.
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LE MONT-DORE, France (AP) — British rider Simon Yates won the first mountainous stage of the Tour de France on Monday and Irish rider Ben Healy was consoled by taking the yellow jersey.
Healy was nominated the most combative rider of the day after forcing the initiative on the 10th stage, but Yates - who won the Giro d’Italia last month – timed his break perfectly on the final climb to win a stage for the third time.
“It’s been a long time, but actually I also was not really expecting any opportunities here,” said Yates, a teammate of two-time Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard. “We came here fully focused on Jonas and the GC (general classification), so the stage played out in a way that I could be there for the stage. I took it with both hands.”
Dutch rider Thymen Arensman was 9 seconds behind, while Healy finished third, 31 seconds behind Yates.
Three-time Tour champion Tadej Pogačar finished farther back alongside main rival Vingegaard and French rider Lenny Martinez with a gap of 4 minutes, 51 seconds.
It meant Healy, who claimed his first stage victory on Thursday, took the overall lead, 29 seconds ahead of Pogačar.
“It’s a fairy tale,” said Healy, the fourth Irish rider to wear the yellow jersey.
Remco Evenepoel was third in the general ranking, 1:29 behind, and Vingegaard 1:46 behind in fourth.
“I’m still behind and I have to take time at one point,” said Vingegaard, who remained positive that Pogačar wasn't too far ahead.
“So far I’ve been able to follow all his attacks which I couldn’t do in (Critérium du) Dauphiné," Vingegaard said, referring to the traditional Tour curtain-raiser. “I think that that shows that I have a better level now than I had in Dauphiné.”
Stage 10 took the riders on an arduous 165.3-kilometer route in the Massif Central — France’s south-central highland region — from Ennezat through seven category two climbs. It finished on the ascent of Puy de Sancy — the region’s highest peak — after 3.3 kilometers of an 8% gradient climb.
French rider Julian Alaphilippe lived up to expectations with the first break on France’s national day, Bastille Day, carving out a 10-second lead before he was caught on the first climb up Côte de Loubeyrat.
Norwegian rider Søren Wærenskjold had to withdraw early as the tough start proved too much after his crash the day before.
German rider Georg Zimmermann withdrew before the start following his crash on Sunday. His team, Intermarché-Wanty, said he “developed signs of a concussion during the night.”
Dutch sprinter Marijn van den Berg also retired due to injuries from his crash on Stage 1, EF Education-Easypost said.
The riders can look forward to their first rest day on Tuesday.
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Stage winner Britain's Simon Yates climbs breakaway during the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Quinn Simmons of the U.S., center, and Ireland's Ben Healy ride in the breakaway during the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Ireland's Ben Healy leads the breakaway with Netherlands' Thymen Arensman, Australia's Ben O'Connor, Australia's Michael Storer, and Britain's Simon Yates, from right to left, during the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, and teammate Britain's Adam Yates ride on the Charade Circuit during the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Britain's Simon Yates crosses the finish line to win the the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
