Key points:
- After Fleurance (1977, 1979), Nice (1981), San Sebastian (1992), Monaco (2009) and Porto-Vecchio (2013), the Tour de France will start from the south for the 7th time as it returns to Nice.
- The first two stages of the 107th edition will consist in two opposite challenges with a course designed for the sprinters as an opener and a climbing festival the next day which should suit the best climbers of the peloton.
The starts from the South of France are among the options offering unusual prospects and scenarios. By hosting the Grand Depart of the 2020 Tour de France, Nice is writing a new chapter of its long history with cycling, which started in 1906 with a first visit by the Tour. For the 100th edition, the town was also asked to provide a superb gateway onto the continent when the peloton reached the mainland from Corsica. Almost 40 years ago, the 1981 edition also started from Nice, where Bernard Hinault made another show of strength and class. The prefecture of the Alpes Maritimes department is also an annual fixture of the cycling calendar with the Race to the Sun, often providing nail-biting finales.
The first stages of the 107th edition should prove just as exciting. While the riders will be forced to raise on their pedals straightaway for the ascent of cote d'Aspremont, the three laps of the circuit designed for the opening stage should normally lead to a bunch sprint on Promenade des Anglais. But the man sporting the yellow jersey the next morning will certainly struggle to retain it given the profile of another Nice-Nice stage this time highlighting the hilly profile of the city's hinterland. On the 190 km of the course, the riders will have to tackle col de la Colmiane, col de Turini and Col d'Eze! A fierce battle of climbers on only the second day of the race...
2020 Grand Départ schedule:
July 27, 2020. Stage 1 : Nice midlands > Nice, 170 km
July 28, 2020. Stage 2 : Nice highlands > Nice, 190 km
