Scotland To Bid For 2017 Tdf Opener

EventScotland is thought to be preparing a bid to host the opening of the Tour de France in 2017.??

Scotland will be up against Japan, the Middle East and the east coast of the United States who are all bidding to host the opening event.??

It is thought that Glasgow and Edinburgh would be the two favourite destinations for the ‘Grand Depart’ – that consists of a time trial and first road stage of the Tour.

EventScotland chief operating officer Paul Bush said of the bid: ‘The Tour de France is an obvious fit for Scotland. We can certainly operate it logistically, we’ve got a fantastic cycling heritage, we’ve had fantastic cycling performances in the last few years and in terms of visual pictures for the Tour and challenges for the riders it would be absolutely outstanding.’??

This year’s Grand Depart will begin in the Vendee region of France whilst it was last it the UK when London hosted it in 2007.