Domestic start in Reims on tap for 2028 Tour de France

After hosting foreign Grand Departs in all but one edition since 2022, the Tour de France is set for a home-soil start in 2028. Organizers Amaury Sport Organization announced today that the city of Reims will host the race's first stages in 2028. Since the 2022 Grand Depart in Denmark, the race has started in Spain (2023), Italy (2024), Spain again (2026) and the UK (2027). Only Lille, in 2025, was a domestic kickoff. Reims, known for its massive 13th century Gothic cathedral among other attractions, will be the center of a three-stage opening bout to the Tour, with stages visiting Charleville-Mézières, Épernay, Metz, Thionville and Verdun. A Luxembourg start was reportedly considered but ruled out. Exact course details are still TBD. A trip to the Vosges and then Alps would be a natural fit, but would upset the usual alternation of the Alps and Pyrenees as the first set of high mountains. The 2028 Tour will also get an early start, with stage 1 kicking off June 24, a calendar concession to the Los Angeles Olympic Games. The Olympic time trials are July 19, while the women's and men's road races follow July 22 and 23, respectively.