Grand Départ in the East: Tour Director Fuels German Hopes

Prudhomme: “Undoubtedly an enticing proposal”

There are other candidates, but Prudhomme’s remarks suggested that the German bid could score points in particular due to the special anniversary. “The project presented to us is undoubtedly an enticing proposal, which we will examine with the utmost attention,” he said. 

The 65-year-old, whose family is partly from Alsace, also raved about East Germany’s cycling tradition, including the Peace Race and riders like Olaf Ludwig. “When I was a child, when I was a teenager, and as a young journalist, it was a very intense experience.”

Together with the participating federal states of Berlin, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia, and with support from the federal government, the goal is to send “a European message of freedom, solidarity, and Franco-German friendship,” according to German Cycling and “Grand Départ Allemagne.”

Thuringia’s Minister-President Mario Voigt (CDU) made a passionate case for starting the Tour in Central Germany. “People are so curious and really want to be there. And they’ll be standing right next to the Tour peloton, cheering it on,” the politician said. “That would be the perfect image—the postcard we need to unite Europe, inspire young people, and show that France and Germany together are the engine driving European integration forward.”