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Tour de France's foreign starts bring big bucks

The Straits Times

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March 04, 2025

As the Tour de France unveiled its fourth foreign start in five years in Barcelona, organisers could point to the financial logic while fending off political criticism from those who believe the world's greatest cycling race should exclusively showcase its home country.

"We must convince the French that the start should be abroad again," Tour director Christian Prudhomme said on Feb 25 in the Spanish city of Barcelona, while unveiling the first two stages of the 2026 Tour.

For Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the company that owns the Tour, the financial logic is clear.

The company does not provide figures but, several sources agree, Copenhagen in 2022, Bilbao in 2023 and Florence in 2024, each paid ASO around €6 million (S$8.5 million) to host the "Grand Depart".

The figures do not include other expenses and investments that can double the bill.

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