A new cross-border bid has been launched by the authorities in the Republic and the North to bring the Tour de France start to the island of Ireland in coming years. The plan has emerged this evening and the process has already begun, according to details set out in Dublin and Belfast Governments.
If the bid is successful, the French Grand Tour could start in Ireland in 2026 or 2027, with the expression of interest now lodged with the organisers of the Tour. The French race started in Ireland in 1998 and the Giro d'Italia had an Irish start, with racing on both sides of the Border, in 2014.
Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin TD and Minister Gordon Lyons MLA today submitted an expression of interest to host the Tour. That effectively formally begins interest by the authorities on the island of Ireland and is part of the formal bidding process involving countries and regions who want the race start.
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"Hosting the world's greatest cycle race would be an exciting opportunity for the island of Ireland. I was delighted to meet Minister Lyons again during my recent trip to Belfast and to agree to express a joint interest in hosting three full stages for Le Grand Départ of the Tour de France, ideally in 2026 or 2027," Martin said.,
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"Our shared experience in hosting major sports events, our cooperative approach in marketing the entire island of Ireland as a tourism destination, and the wonderful scenery and céad míle fáilte that awaits visitors to Ireland could all combine to create an amazing all-island event. This collaborative process has my full support and I will engage with colleagues across Government on this in the coming weeks."
Lyons echoed those hopes, saying he wanted to see the kind of cycling show that was put on in the North when it hosted most of the Giro d'Italia's start eight years ago
"Securing the opening stages of the Tour de France would be a fantastic opportunity for Northern Ireland to feature on the world stage and add to the growing list of major sporting events that have come here in recent year," Lyons said.
"People will fondly remember the success of the Giro d'Italia 'Big Start’ in 2014, and I am confident that together we would be able to successfully host the Grand Depart. Major events such as this not only bring about huge economic benefits but give us a tremendous opportunity to showcase everything that is great about Northern Ireland."
