Ireland is bidding to host the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in 2026 or 2027 with the support of the governments north and south of the border.
On Wednesday evening, Ireland’s minister for tourism and sport Catherine Martin and Northern Ireland’s Minister for the economy Gordon Lyons confirmed that an expression of interest had been lodged with Tour organiser ASO.
"Our shared experience in hosting major sports events, our cooperative approach in marketing the entire island of Ireland as a tourism destination, and the wonderful scenery and céad míle fáilte that awaits visitors to Ireland could all combine to create an amazing all-island event," said Martin.
Ireland has hosted Grand Tours starts on two previous occasions. The 1998 Tour started in Dublin and travelled southwards to Cork ahead of the transfer to France, though the event’s legacy in Ireland was severely damaged by the Festina Affair, which ignited that same week. Its immediate impact, too, was mitigated by the lack of Irish riders in the peloton.
The 2014 Giro d’Italia Grande Partenza in Belfast proved less contentious and the field featured Philip Deignan, Nicolas Roche and Dan Martin, who crashed out in the opening team time trial.
The cross-border nature of that Giro start, which also featured a stage from Armagh to Dublin, is clearly the template for this latest bid, which would see stages in both the Republic and Northern Ireland.
"People will fondly remember the success of the Giro d’Italia ‘Big Start’ in 2014, and I am confident that together we would be able to successfully host the Grand Départ," Lyons said. "Major events such as this not only bring about huge economic benefits but give us a tremendous opportunity to showcase everything that is great about Northern Ireland."
Pat McQuaid, then a race organiser, was instrumental in bringing the 1998 Tour Grand Départ to Dublin, while his brother Darach was the key figure in the Giro’s visit to Ireland in 2014.
The 1998 Tour transferred from Ireland to France without a rest day, with riders catching an evening flight and the race caravan taking the overnight ferry from Cork to Roscoff. However, it seems certain that this prospective Irish Grand Départ would, like the 2014 Giro, feature an early rest day.
Current UCI rules state the that Grand Tours are only permitted to insert an additional rest day just once every four years. The Tour de France used that provision for this year’s Danish start, hence Ireland’s inability to bid for a Grand Départ before 2026.
The 2023 Tour starts in Bilbao, while Florence has been tipped as the host of the following year’s Grand Départ, though neither of those foreign starts would require an additional rest day for the transfer to France.
