The Tour de France will crisscross the roads of Brittany from June 26 to 29, 2021. -

JEFF PACHOUD / AFP

  • The route of the next Tour de France was unveiled on Sunday evening by Christian Prudhomme.

  • The Grande Boucle will start from Brest on June 26 with four stages in Brittany.

  • For local elected officials, the event should allow them to forget a little about the gloomy context.

“We could have done about ten stages in Brittany!

".

The sentence released Sunday evening by Christian Prudhomme to our colleagues from

France Bleu

testifies to the enthusiasm that still arouses the Tour de France in Brittany.

Once the big departure from Brest was recorded, following Rennes' refusal to host the event, the organizers indeed received around thirty applications from Breton towns wishing to host a start or finish of the Grande Boucle.

Not everyone was satisfied, of course, but the homeland of Bernard Hinault and Louison Bobet was nevertheless spoiled by Amaury Sport Organization with four stages on the program for the 108th edition and one in each of the four Breton departments ( Brest-Landerneau; Perros-Guirec-Mûr de Bretagne; Lorient-Pontivy; Redon-Fougères).

🤩 Here is the official # TDF2021 route!



🤩 Here is the official route of # TDF2021!

pic.twitter.com/MEoDFc2ph2

- Tour de France ™ (@LeTour) November 1, 2020

"We had initially left for a negotiation for three days but we finally managed to sign for four days", welcomes Loïg Chesnais-Girard, president of the Brittany region, welcoming "the teamwork" led by the elected officials. Bretons "to be on the starting line".

While it was initially supposed to host the big start of the Tour in 2022, the region has indeed agreed to change its plans to compensate for the Copenhagen package in 2021. “But Brittany has never been and will never be a plan B », Assured Christian Prudhomme.

"The hope of finally seeing the end of the tunnel"

The unveiling on Sunday evening of the official route of the next Tour de France in any case made people happy in the region.

"In this gray and gloomy period, the Tour de France is the hope of finally seeing the end of the tunnel," said Christine Le Strat, the mayor of Pontivy (Morbihan).

😍 #Bretagne will be the Grand Départ of # TDF2021!



🚴 Discover the 4 100% Breton stages and see you in 237 days!



➡️ More info here: https://t.co/N5AUwQfkUu # LaBretagneEnTête # TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/AAJCJa4We5

- Brittany region (@regionbretagne) November 1, 2020

Equally enthusiastic, Jean-Luc Chenut, president of the Ille-et-Vilaine departmental council, believes that the start of the Grande Boucle will allow "to project on positive, popular and meaningful things".

"It's a great breath of fresh air and optimism as sport knows how to bring us", continues Fabrice Loher, new mayor of Lorient.

The arrival at Mûr makes the local runners salivate

Originally from Hennebont, Warren Barguil did not hide his joy when the route was announced.

"How not to be in an appetite in front of this route of the Tour de France 2021, with these four days of" Fest Noz "cyclists which are announced for us riders", reacted the rider of the Arkéa-Samsic team, who has already targeted two stages: "the one that will arrive at Landerneau because it can favor a puncheur-climber, Mûr-de-Bretagne also that we will climb twice".

Nice the route of the 2021 tour with the start at home in Brittany but also a lot of stages on the edges 🙈😜 # TDF2021

- barguil (@WarrenBarguil) November 1, 2020

Stage winner in the Vuelta on Saturday, the Breton David Gaudu is also excited by this start in Celtic soil.

“The first two stages will be great arrivals for punchers-climbers, both will be 15 kilometers from my parents and my home, it makes you want to be there, says the runner of the FDJ.

These are roads that I know by heart.

Mûr-de-Bretagne is our Alpe d'Huez, with this straight climb where the public supports all runners ”.

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From Brittany to the Champs, via the Gironde, the Tour de France 2021 route unveiled

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