2021 Tour de France to start in Brest after Copenhagen pulls out of staging duties

Paris: The 2021 Tour de France will start in the western French port of Brest, organisers said Monday, a week after Copenhagen pulled out of staging it. The Tour will spend around a week in Brittany, with four departure points and four arrivals, the region’s president Loig Chesnais-Girard told AFP. The first stage would have been a time trial in Copenhagen on 2 July with two more stages in Denmark on 3 and 4 July. The new ‘Grand Depart’ will be a week earlier so as to avoid a clash with the rescheduled Tokyo Olympic Games. Copenhagen mayor Frank Jensen said last week the Danish organisers have accepted an offer from the race’s organiser, Amaury Sport Organisation, to postpone the start in Denmark until 2022.