After shipping the Grand Départ off to Spain in 2026 and the United Kingdom in 2027, the ASO has remembered where their own bicycle race is actually supposed to take place. Organizers announced today that the 115th edition of the Tour de France will kick off in the Grand Est region of France, officially starting in Reims on Saturday, June 24, 2028.
Yes, that is an aggressively early start date. The peloton will once again be subjected to a modified, condensed racing calendar to accommodate the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
From first looks, it appears to be a challenging opening weekend through vineyards, punchy hills, and historical battlefields.
The Bubbly and Brutal Route
The opening four stages will traverse the Marne, Ardennes, Meuse, and Moselle departments. Rather than easing the riders in with flat processionals, the route hits six distinct stage cities.
- Reims: The City of Kings (and the home of reigning cycling royalty Pauline Ferrand-Prévot) will host the actual Grand Départ. It is the first time Reims has launched the Tour since André Darrigade took yellow here in 1956. Expect endless aerial helicopter shots of the cathedral and a highly frantic opening stage.
- Épernay: The peloton will head deep into chalky Champagne territory. If you remember Julian Alaphilippe tearing the race apart here on the punchy vineyard climbs in 2019, expect a similarly lactic-acid-inducing finale.
- Charleville-Mézières & Verdun: The race then turns north into the Ardennes and Meuse. The ASO is leaning heavily into the historical significance of the region’s World War I scars. While the television commentators discuss the poetry of Arthur Rimbaud, the peloton will be fighting for survival on the unrelenting roads of the northeast.
- Metz & Thionville: The Grand Est tour wraps up near the borders in the Moselle department. Metz actually holds a great piece of cycling nerd trivia—it was the very first “foreign” city to host the Tour back in 1906, when the territory was part of the German Empire.
What This Means for the Racing
The Grand Est region does not have massive, snow-capped Alpine HC climbs, but it is a masterclass in attritional racing. The roads through the Champagne vineyards are narrow, deceptively steep, and completely exposed to the elements.
You cannot win the 2028 Tour de France in the vineyards of Épernay, but with the inevitable crosswinds and punchy, classic-style terrain, you may well lose it.
