Highlights: Barrenetxea sprints to victory at Boucles de l’Aulne
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The Grand Depart will take place in Reims, France, on Saturday, June 24, while the Olympics is set to begin on July 14, with the Individual Time Trial on July 19.
Meanwhile, the Olympic Road Race is penciled in for July 23 – a week after the Tour’s final stage.
This means that Stages 20 and 21 will take place across the opening weekend of the LA Olympics on July 15 and 16, causing a conundrum for some of the world’s best riders.
Only six host towns for the 2028 Tour have been revealed so far, with all situated in the Grand Est region of France.
After beginning in Reims, the race heads to Charleville, Mezieres, Epernay, Verdun, Metz and Thionville.
Reims previously hosted the Grand Depart in 1956 and has been part of the men’s Tour route 20 times but not since 2019.
Epernay is a destination that will provide fond memories for Julian Alaphilippe, who claimed a stage three win, also in 2019.
Meanwhile, Metz was the first foreign outpost on the route when it was part of Germany in 1906 before becoming part of France.
But for now, the focus is on this year’s Tour that begins on July 4, with a Grand Depart in Barcelona.
There will be the introduction of a first team time trial in seven years and two separate ascents of Alpe d’Huez, with all the action live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.
The Tour comes to the United Kingdom next year, with the Grand Depart set to take in three days of racing across Scotland, England and Wales.
This will include a 223km stage going from Keswick to Liverpool, while the women’s race takes in a route which starts in Leeds and finishes in London.
It will be the first time that both men’s and women’s Grands Departs have started in the same country outside of France.
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