2021 Tour de France race to start in Denmark

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — 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.

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.

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.