Luxembourg comes forward with a serious offer to host the Grand Départ of the 2028 Tour de France

We've grown accustomed in recent years that the Tour de France holds a Grand Départ outside of France and that the situation will not be different in years to come. For 2026, we eye a start in Barcelona (Spain). In 2027, the peloton will head across the La Manche to depart from Edinburgh (Scotland, UK). For now, the starting location of 2028 race has not yet been revealed, however it doesn't seem likely that a home Grand Départ will be on the cards.

According to L’essentiel, Luxembourg hopes to host three stages of the 2028 Tour, paying a fee of €8-9 million. Tour organiser ASO is expected to make a final decision in the spring of 2026. Tour director Christian Prudhomme has already visited Luxembourg and received the official dossier for the bid.

Above all others, there seems to be only one other major challenger for Luxembourg to host the start of the 2028 Tour de France. Czech Republic's capital city of Prague holds a strong bid thanks to Czech car manufacturer Škoda being a long-time race sponsor best known through presence on the Green jersey.

The first stage would be a 13.5-kilometer individual time trial in the Luxembourg capital. The rolling stage 2 would start in Luxembourg City, climb through the valleys of the Ernz Blanche and the Mullerthal and finish in Esch-sur-Alzette. Stage 3 would start in Echternach and then leave Luxembourg, probably entering France for the remaining stages.

For Luxembourg, the 2028 edition would connect present with 100th anniversary of Nicolas Frantz’s second Tour de France victory. That the years ending with digit '8' have been imporant for the small country's cycling and sports history is amplified by 2028 also coinciding with the 70th anniversary of Charly Gaul's victory in 1958.

Thus, the next French Grand Départ after Brest in 2021 and Lille this year could come soonest in 2029 for the 116th edition of Grande Boucle. However with Slovenia as a strong candidate to host either this or 2031 edition's start, there is no certainty that the 4-year cycle will become a sort of unwritten rule.