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The 2017 Tour de France in Luxembourg

Luxembourg and the Tour de France, it's a beautiful love story ! Luxembourgers are fond of this sporting competition, which takes place every year during the first three weeks of July. For this 104 ^th edition of the event, the runners will cross Luxembourg, in two stages. We tell you more !

Cyclists will start in Düsseldorf, Germany, on July 1 ^st . This first stage will be a time trial (prologue) with a distance of 13km.

In the second stage, the peloton will head for Belgium, where it will join the city of Liège.

The Tour will then go to the Grand Duchy during the ^3rd stage. He will cross the country, before reaching the finish line which will be located in Longwy.

The next day, the athletes will start in Luxembourg, Mondorf-les-Bains, before returning to France after a dozen kilometers.

The rest of the competition will then take place in France. The arrival on the Champs-Elysees is scheduled for Sunday, July 23.

In total, during the 3 weeks of competition, the riders will ride 3,540 kilometers .

TDF 2017 in the Grand Duchy

On July 3rd and 4th , Luxembourg will host this legendary race. Over the two days, more than twenty communes in the country will be crossed. In total, cyclists will travel the Grand Ducal roads 126 kilometers .

The first passage through the country will take place at the ^3rd step. After starting from Verviers (Belgium), the peloton will take the direction of Luxembourg. For 115 kilometers they will pass through Troisvierges, Wincrange, Wiltz, Grosbous, Mamer, Mondercange, Foetz and Esch-sur-Alzette . The arrival will be, she, the side of the French border, Longwy.

The next day, cyclists will ride their bike to Mondorf-les-Bains, the stronghold of the Schleck brothers. Only 11 kilometers will be covered on Luxembourg soil during this stage, on the side of the Moselle ( Burmerange, Remerschen and Schengen ). Schengen, symbol of a Europe without borders, will take this opportunity to celebrate the 60 years of the signing of the Treaty of Rome.

Clap, 8 ^th !

This visit of the Tour de France on Luxembourg soil will be the eighth. The first time he crossed the country, it was in 1947, when the runners had crossed the finish line at the velodrome of Bel Air.

In 2002, the TDF started from Luxembourg, during a prologue in Luxembourg City. The last time the competition stopped in the country was in 2006, at two stages.

4 Luxemburgish winners of the event

François Faber won the race in 1909, becoming the first non-French cyclist to win. Nicolas Frantz then triumphed twice, in 1927 and 1928. In 1928, he became the first rider to keep the yellow jersey from the first to the last leg.

We must wait 30 years to see again a Luxembourg on the ^1st place podium : it is Charly Gaul in 1958.

The following decades are less successful, it was not until the 2000s to feel a new breath. We think in particular of the year 2008, where Luxembourgish will distinguish itself. During this 95 ^th edition, Fränk Schleck finished in ^5th place in the standings, having worn the yellow jersey for two days. Another Luxembourger in yellow during the race, Kim Kirchen. After also donned the green jersey, he grabs the 7 ^th place overall. Andy Schleck's younger brother Fränk, ranks him ^11th position and returned to Luxembourg with, on his shoulders, the white jersey, which crowns the best young of the race.

The following year, Andy finished in second place. The same goes for 2010, before he was finally declared the winner of the event a posteriori, in 2012, following the decommissioning of the Spanish Alberto Contador.

A beautiful advertisement for Luxembourg

The Tour de France is an opportunity for the country to show on the international scene since the competition is broadcast all over the world . Thus, in 2016, it was broadcast in 190 countries and watched by more than 3 billion viewers .

The Secretary of State for Economy, Francine Closener, said that the passage of the TDF was an opportunity for the Grand Duchy to ensure its promotion and to discover its heritage, its nature and its beauty since all cameras will be focused on him.