Mayor Thomas Geisel Visits the Start of Tour de France 2016

On Saturday, Mayor Thomas Geisel, City Manager Burkhard Hintzsche, Project Manager Theresa Winkels and Event Director Sven Teutenberg visited the 1st stage of the Tour de France. The Grand Départ Düsseldorf 2017 was omnipresent, too – on site, but also in the worldwide television coverage.

There was a great deal of publicity for the Grand Départ Düsseldorf 2017 during the kickoff of this year's Tour de France in the French department of Manche.

On Saturday, Mayor Thomas Geisel, City Manager Burkhard Hintzsche, Project Manager Theresa Winkels and Event Director Sven Teutenberg visited the 1st stage of the Tour de France, which spanned 188 kilometers from Mont-Saint-Michel to Utah Beach.

The Grand Départ Düsseldorf 2017 was omnipresent, too - on site, but also in the worldwide television coverage. For one thing, the start of the Tour is coming back to Germany for the first time in 30 years. For another, Paul Voß from the German team BORA-ARGON 18 - which will be wearing their "Düsseldorf 2017" jerseys for the entire 2016 Tour - sensationally broke free from the pack to win the two mountains classifications and thus the polka dot jersey. Constantly followed by the TV cameras, of course.

Mayor Thomas Geisel, who was riding in the support vehicle with Marie-Odile Amaury and cycling legend Bernard Hinault, said, "There were enthusiastic spectators standing and sitting along the entire course, and the atmosphere was amazing and extremely contagious- a combination of tense expectation and town festival. Those of us in Düsseldorf, along with many cycling fans from the Benelux countries in particular, are looking forward to just as great a sporting event and an amazing festival feeling next year, too."

After honoring the stage winner, Mark Cavendish (Marcel Kittel came in second), the Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.) invited a group of guests (including Prince Albert II of Monaco) to a peace memorial event on Utah Beach to commemorate the Allied landing on June 6, 1944.

The state capital of Düsseldorf also caught cycling fever during the entire kickoff day for the Tour de France 2016. At the 11th annual 'Radaktiv' Day, visitors stood in line at the promotion booth for the Grand Départ Düsseldorf 2017 to "ride" the 1st stage of the 2017 Tour using virtual reality technology.

Prominent members of Düsseldorf's sports community also insisted on trying out the Grand Départ in Düsseldorf for themselves. During the public viewing at the start of the Tour, DEG Captain Daniel Kreutzer, Borussia Düsseldorf Manager Andreas Preuss and Robert Schäfer, the CEO of Fortuna, met up with Councilor Günter Karen-Jungen, the Chair of the small commission on the Grand Départ, for a test run in the market square. After taking virtual rides along the 1st stage of the Grand Départ Düsseldorf 2017, the athletic guests expressed their enthusiasm.

Daniel Kreutzer, Düsseldorfer EG: "The Grand Départ 2017 is an absolute highlight and a great distinction for Düsseldorf. After the ice hockey world championships, which Germany is hosting together with France in May, we will continue to celebrate German-French friendship starting in early July."

Andreas Preuss, Borussia Düsseldorf: "The Grand Départ has many benefits for normal bike riders in Düsseldorf, too. The bike network is being expanded, there will be more parking facilities, and the app from the RADschlag initiative is already offering great information and tips for bike tours."

Robert Schäfer, Fortuna Düsseldorf: "I am really looking forward to hosting the world of cycling in Düsseldorf next year. Düsseldorf has so much to offer, and we need to tell the world about it. You can already see from this year's coverage that our international profile is growing - that's great for Düsseldorf."