Nice 2013

It is rare to officially announce the stage that immediately follows on from the Grand Depart 18 months before the start of the Tour. But seeing as though the Grand Depart is particularly special in 2013, beginning in Corsica, we’ve decided to make another exclusive announcement. It is clear to us that Nice is the ideal place for the Tour to arrive on the Mainland.

For the 100^th edition of the great race, the capital of the Côte d’Azur has all that the Tour de France could hope for: prestige, international recognition, natural beauty, bags of experience in organising major events and a strong and undeniable link with cycling. Next March, we will rightly celebrate the 70th anniversary of the ‘Course au Soleil’, the season’s first gathering of the international peloton on our continent.

Nice is a town of many cycling memories. In 1981 Bernard Hinault set the Tour alight in the city. The current world champion swopped his rainbow jersey for the yellow jersey right after the prologue. Since this moment in Nice, no rider has been able to repeat this performance.

Christian PRUDHOMME
Director of Tour de France

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Nice has been part of a great cycling tradition for many years. What better proof of this than Paris-Nice race – due to celebrate its 70^th anniversary in the month of March and the many cycling events that enliven our city and the surrounding countryside throughout the year. As both the Mayor of Nice and a serious cycling enthusiast, it is therefore with great honour and pride that I welcome the Tour de France in 2013 to celebrate the 100 th edition of the world’s greatest cycling race, a legendary event that has done so much for French sporting glory.

This exceptional setting in the heart of the Riviera between the sea and mountains, the ideal backdrop for the exploits of the «petite reine» (or «little queen» as we French like to call the bicycle) and the work of the Amaury Sport Organisation, will perfectly capture the spirit of the tour.

As we welcome the cyclists onto the Promenade des Anglais, armed with our expertise in hosting major international sporting events, everything will be in place to make the 2013 ‘Grand Boucle’ an event which will linger long in the hearts and minds of all concerned.

Christian Estrosi
Député-maire de Nice
Président de Nice Côte d’Azur

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On Paris-Nice or the Tour de France, the champions of all periods have battled it out on the famous Promenade des Anglais. And here's what it looked like...

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While the Paris-Nice race and the Course au Soleil have kicked off the cycling season every year since 1933, the 100^th Tour de France will mark the race’s 36 th visit to the capital of the French Riviera. The first cyclist to make his mark here in 1906 was future champion René Pottier.

Very frequent before the war, the Tour’s visits to Nice later became a little less so. But the peloton cherishes vivid and fond memories of its last visit to Nice, during the first stage of the Tour 2009, which started in Monaco. A crowd worthy of the grand old days turned out to cheer on the runners on their way to Brignoles. While that day witnessed an intermediate sprint along the sea under the palm trees, we must go back a little further in time to find a race which actually finished in the city. That was in 1981 when, on the occasion of the Grand Depart, Bernard Hinault had appeared on the launch ramp of the prologue stage as world champion. Less than 7 km farther on, he changed into the yellow jersey, and set the tone of a Tour that he would dominate to the end.

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4^th STAGE

Tuesday 2^nd July

Nice > team time trial

After the Grand Depart of the 100^th Tour de France in Corsica, it is at Nice that the race will make its re-entry to the mainland. The 4^th stage will be a team time trial on the streets of the capital of the French Riviera. The starting point is yet to be determined, but the finish, as was the case in 1981, is already booked for the Promenade des Anglais. The length of the stage will be around 20 km.

5^th stage

Wednesday 3^rd July

Cagnes-sur-Mer > …

The race will kick off at Cagnes-sur-Mer, a town to the west of Nice, playing host to the Tour de France for the first time. The peloton will then head towards...

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Capital of the French Riviera, France’s fifth city, the country’s second tourist destination with over 4.5 million visitors a year and its second airport with 10 million passengers a year, Nice boasts a unique setting and an exceptional climate. These are just two of a host of assets that have made this a key destination for major international events and above all a Mecca for sport, earning the city the title «European City of Sport» in 2011.

Unstintingly supported by Mayor Christian Estrosi MP, the city’s sporting aspirations will receive a magnificent boost with the delivery in June 2013 of Nice’s new Stadium an ultramodern arena brimming with energy that will form part of Saint-Isidore’s future eco-district. A fitting symbol for the city, this great 35,000-seater stadium will host the Francophone Games in September 2013, in which cycling will appear for the first time as a demonstration sport. Another major added benefit of the facility is that it will host the National Sports Museum, building a bridge between sport and culture.

A city of major facilities for major events, catering to the elite sportman and the enthusiastic amateur alike, there can be no better symbol of Nice’s boundless sports mania than the arrival of the Tour de France in 2013.

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