Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

news

Is the Tour de France route trolling the UK - and Boris Johnson - over Brexit? Here's the evidence ...

London had been set to host 2017 Grand Depart until former mayor, Leave campaigner and current foreign secretary pulled the plug

Has the 2017 Tour de France route been deliberately designed to troll the United Kingdom - and foreign secretary and Leave campaigner Boris Johnson, in particular - over Brexit? There seems to be plenty of evidence to support that theory.

London had been set to be awarded the Grand Depart of this year's race until the Tory politician, at the time the capital's mayor, pulled the plug on the city's bid at the eleventh hour in September 2015, citing funding issues.

> London wins Grand Depart of 2017 Tour de France - then withdraws bid at 11th hour

Instead, the Grand Depart was awarded to the German city of Dusseldorf, which hosted the opening day's time trial as well as the start of Stage 2 on Sunday.

The first three days of the race took in no fewer than four countries - besides Germany, the race visited Belgium and Luxembourg before entering France yesterday.

That's four of the six countries that signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957, founding the European Economic Community (EEC), the predecessor of the European Union (EU).

The other two are Italy and the Netherlands - and the end of Stage 2 to Liege came within 10 kilometres or so of the Dutch city of Maastricht, birthplace of the EU through the treaty signed there in 1992.

Now, consider the village in Luxembourg that the race passed through just 7.5 kilometres into today's Stage 4 - Schengen, where in 1985 the agreement was signed that would pave the way for the creation of the Schengen Area that removed border controls between participating Member States.

We don't think that can all be a coincidence, and there's another notable location that the peloton will pass through on Thursday's Stage 6 -  Colombey-les-Deux-Églises in France's Haute Marne department, the home village of soldier-turned-politician Charles de Gaulle.

As President of France in the 1960s, de Gaulle twice vetoed the United Kingdom's aspirations (supported by the Conservative, Labour and Liberal parties) to join the EEC, despite the other five then Member States giving their go-ahead.

While current Mayor of London Sadiq Khan says he is keen to bring the Tour de France back to the city, insisting that race owner ASO bears no ill-will for the withdrawal of the bid to stage this year's Grand Depart, we reckon the above all stacks up to some top trolling by the organisers.

> Tour de France coming back to London? Mayor keen and says ASO doesn't hold a grudge

But at least with Team Sky's Geraint Thomas first and Chris Froome second on general classification, it's the union flag that's currently flying at the top of the overall standings.

 

 

 

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

Add new comment

7 comments

Avatar
Edgeley | 6 years ago
0 likes

Schengen might have been deliberately included.  But the going near to Maastricht thing is a bit desperate.

Avatar
psling | 6 years ago
1 like

Born in Scotland, Simon moved to London aged seven and now lives in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds... 

 

Who's trolling who? This is the sort of stuff some fishy politicians from north of the border might come out with...

[said in good humour with due deference to our independently minded cousins beyond the wall]

Avatar
handlebarcam | 6 years ago
2 likes

I find this route-planning-as-political-statement thesis quite tenuous, even if you add to the list what could be a reference to Boris Johnson specifically: that one of the feed zones was located in the town of Titz. That said, I did feel a tear coming to my eye when Ode to Joy, the anthem of the European Union, was played at the start of Sunday's first road stage. Still, the Tories have displayed such incompetence in recent months, nothing is certain...

Avatar
brooksby | 6 years ago
0 likes

I think you might be reading a bit too much into the route, you know...

Avatar
Chris Hayes | 6 years ago
2 likes

Oh dear... suggest you spend more time on your Colnago, Simon.   But with a frame made in Italy, a founder member of the EU and only 900 km from where the Maastrict Treaty was signed, is that a part of a trolling conspiracy too  1

Avatar
bendertherobot | 6 years ago
6 likes

Well, let's look at the evidence. Dusseldorf was announced in 2015 wasn't it? Ditto Stage 2 announced on the same day, though, at the time, not where it would end. 

Not a particularly big leap to begin stage 3 in Belgium given where stage 2 finished. Then getting it to France through some of the possibly co-incidental places.....I mean, it has to go pretty close to Schengen, Maastricht, maybe use a country where the EU is 'based.' That kind of thing.

And, you know, it's the TDF, not the EU. So, no.

Avatar
kitkat | 6 years ago
1 like

Latest Comments