Grand Départ Trophy Given to Düsseldorf

Next stage, Düsseldorf! Today, Mayor Thomas Geisel paid a visit to the finish line of the Tour de France 2016 in Paris with a delegation from Düsseldorf (including City Manager Burkhard Hintzsche, Helga Leibauer, the Deputy Chair of the small commission for the Grand Départ, and Sven Teutenberg, Event Director of the Grand Départ Düsseldorf 2017).

The delegation members were easily recognizable by their Grand Départ Düsseldorf 2017 t-shirts, pins and Düsseldorf-red sunglasses.

A special honor: After the end of the stage on the Champs-Élysées and after honoring this year's winner, Christopher Froome, the trophy for Grand Départ cities was handed over to Mayor Thomas Geisel by Philippe Bas, President of the General Council of France's department of Manche. Afterward, Mayor Thomas Geisel met with French President François Hollande.

Mayor Thomas Geisel: "From now on, the eyes of the cycling world will be focused on Düsseldorf, as the organizer of the Grand Départ Düsseldorf 2017 - and the enthusiasm is already palpable not just in the city, but also abroad."

The silver traveling trophy from the Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.) is engraved with the names of the Grand Départ cities and is passed along each year from one organizing city to the next.

It will be displayed in Düsseldorf's City Hall.