Planned route itinerary of the 1st and 2nd stage of the Tour de France 2017

Important parts of the route of the 1st and 2nd stage of the Tour de France, of the Grand Départ Düsseldorf 2017, have already been planned and the route is now to be finalized in the respective districts, cities and municipalities over the next several months. The plans (as per November 14, 2016) are as follows: 

1st stage (individual trial times) on July 1, 2017 in Düsseldorf

On Saturday, July 1, 2017 the Tour de France 2017 starts with an individual time trial covering 13 kilometers through the Düsseldorf urban area. The cyclists start at the Düsseldorf Trade Fair and ride along the banks of the Rhine river. They touch on the Cultural Center Ehrenhof in the process and sprint over the Oberkassel Bridge into Oberkassel on the left bank of the Rhine.

With a view toward the Rhine Tower and the NRW state parliament the cyclists will go back over the Rheinknie Bridge, past the Medienhafen toward the inner city. On the famous shopping promenade Königsallee the cyclists will continue to vie for the best time. At the end of the "Kö" shopping promenade the route passes the Triton fountain and switches to the Heinrich-Heine-Allee, then heads toward the Rhine embankment passing the Deutsche Oper. 

The subsequent home stretch of 3.3 kilometers along the Rhine leads back to the Trade Fair.

The preliminary route itinerary can be found here: http://drive.google.com/open?id=1zpEo4soyq0pv5okz2MlZBg1Y9HQ&usp=sharing

2nd stage on July 2, 2017 from Düsseldorf to Liège

Starting point of the 2nd stage of the Tour de France 2017 is the Tonhalle embankment on which the Village has been erected for the guests of honor and partners of the Tour de France. On July 2, 2017 the teams will be cycling via the Joseph Beuys embankment toward the Burgplatz where they will officially register and present themselves to the spectators. The neutralization kick-off, a slow cycling-in of the competitors, will take place here. The eight-kilometers long neutralization extends through the old quarters of the city toward MedienHafen and is a unique opportunity for the spectators to experience the cyclists up-close.

At the Living Bridge spanning the dock the team of cyclists will stop for an official ceremony before continuing on through the Düsseldorf inner city and getting on their marks for the official kick-off in Fischerstraße. The cycling team will pick up the route from here.

After the first flat kilometers through the state capital the route continues upward toward the Galopp race tracks- at the Grafenberger Wald the pros will compete for the first points for the polka dot jersey 2017. From Grafenberg the track leads through Gerresheim and the city of Erkrath. Finally, the 2nd stage of the Tour de France 2017 meanders through the Neandertal upward toward Mettmann, before the cyclists traverse Ratingen and get back to Düsseldorf from there. This is a novelty in the Tour de France, as it is the first time that a stage leads out of the starting line city and leads back to it again.

The Rhine river is then crossed via the Theodor Heuss Bridge into the urban district of Oberkassel. At route kilometer 52 the cyclists leave the Düsseldorf urban area again and arrive at Neuss through the Rhine district of Neuss, via Meerbusch. The team traverses the Neuss inner city, arriving at the bastion of cycling in the state of North Rhine Westphalia, Kaarst-Büttgen.

On the following route from Korschenbroich toward Mönchengladbach  via the L 381 the teams prepare for the first sprint classification of the Tour de France 2017, which will be made at kilometer 83 in the Mönchengladbach city center.

Through the district of Heinsberg, past the strip mine Garzweiler 1 the cyclists arrive in the district of Düren at the historical town of Jülich, which from 1794 until 1814 was part of French territory in the Département de la Roer,as well as the municipalities of Titz and Aldenhoven.

After the urban region of Aachen with the cities of Alsdorf and Würselen, the Cathedral City of Aachen is the last German city through which the cyclists of the Tour de France 2017 pass through. Via the B264 the cycling pros will then cross the German-Belgian border. They will compete on Belgian soil in the last 51 kilometers of the stage toward the destination of the 2nd stage: Liège.

An overview of the planned itinerary of the 2nd stage:

http://drive.google.com/open?id=10L5MM5qSkU4FxIP6RH1U7HHJAWU&usp=sharing

Impact on traffic in Düsseldorf during the Grand Départ 2017

No significant restrictions are to be expected upon the introduction of the team on Thursday, June 29, 2017. The Oberkassel bridge will be blocked off toward the entrance to the city for the introduction of the teams at the Burgplatz as in the case of the NRW State Fair, between 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. The inner city can still be reached during these times due to a detour via the Rheinknie Bridge and the Theodor-Heuss Bridge.

During the 1st stage, the time trial on Saturday, July 1, 2017 significant restrictions for general traffic in the city can be expected between 3 a.m. ( set up of roadblocks) and 5 p.m. (end of time trial) plus removal of the roadblocks. The inner city will be blocked off for general traffic.  Traffic regulations to allow unavoidable traffic with special permits (Tour de France events and resident traffic, fire brigade, police, rescue services, social services, etc.) for entry and exit into and out of the zone are being elaborated for the old city quarters and Carlstadt.

At the 2nd stage on Sunday, July 2, 2017 the interval of the unavoidable restrictions is between 7:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. The necessary detours for the exit of the Tour across the city limits-via the Theodor Heuss Bridge-  will be planned in the coming weeks and coordinated with the ASo. Parallel and subsequently the plans for the other municipalities will be developed and coordinated.

As soon as the plans, also with regard to alternative parking spaces, ÖPNV-connections and through-channels have been finalized the citizens will be extensively informed via letter, information events, media, the information line 115 and the Internet at www.duesseldorf.de/letour and www.duesseldorf2017.de.