Tour de France to start in Lille in 2025
The 2025 Tour de France will start in the northern city of Lille, the organisers of cycling's most famous race announced on Tuesday. The opening stage has been held in Lille, near the Belgian border, twice before in 1960 and 1994. The past two editions of the Tour, which started in 1903, have taken place abroad, in Copenhagen and Bilbao. Next year's race will take off from Florence, Italy and for the first time it will end in Nice and not Paris, due to the Olympic Games taking place in the French capital. Further details of the opening stage, or Grand Depart, as well the three following days of action based in the region will be released on November 30 by organisers, Amaury sport organisation. Local newspaper, La Voix du Nord, reported the first stage will be a sprint with another day of the opening four to be based on northern France's famous cobbles. It also claimed the route will follow the Normandy coastline and include time in Brittany. (AFP)