Programme of the Grand Départ Düsseldorf 2017

Experience the Grand Départ Düsseldorf 2017
The sporting part of the Grand Départ kicks off with the presentation of the teams on Thursday, 29 June, at 6 pm. On Friday, the Lichterfest (festival of lights) at Schloss Benrath offers the audience classical music under open skies, a romantic illuminated palace and breath-taking fireworks. At the same time, the official reception of the Grand Départ Düsseldorf 2017 is to be held there.

On Saturday, the 1st stage starts as an individual time trial - planned start time: 3.15 pm (publicity caravan from 1.45 pm). On the evening of the 1st of July, the KRAFTWERK 3-D Open Air Concert for the start of the Tour de France with special guest AIR is to be held in Ehrenhof. On Sunday, to conclude the Grand Départ, the second stage is set to start in Düsseldorf - scheduled start time: 12.03 pm (publicity caravan from 10 am). Around a million spectators are expected.

Team presentation on Thursday 29th June 2017
The team presentation on 29 June 2017 is the first highlight of the Grand Départ Düsseldorf 2017. The 198 professional cyclists will be welcomed to the state capital and accompanied onto the stage at Burgplatz by some of Düsseldorf's great personalities such as Heinrich Heine, Clara and Robert Schumann and Joseph Beuys. However, whereas Düsseldorf's celebrities are portrayed by so-termed "living sculptures", i.e. actors, the nine cyclists of each of the 22 teams will appear in person, and introduce themselves on the stage at the Schlossturm (castle tower).

The team presentation will be opened at 6 pm with the European anthem sung by about 80 children from Singpause and the tenor Sascha Dücker. The programme will be supplemented by performances by bicycle artists, dance groups from tanzhaus nrw and the band Fresh Music Live.

Interviews with the team captains
At 6.30 pm, the introduction of the Tour participants is set to start. Through interviews with the team captains and other cyclists, the spectators will find out details about the teams and get an insight into their chances in the Grand Tour.

After the introduction on stage, the teams ride from Burgplatz to Marktplatz, through Rheinstraße and then along Rheinufer to Johannes-Rau-Platz to greet the fans in Düsseldorf. At Marktplatz, Grabbeplatz, Johannes-Rau-Platz and Kö-Bogen, spectators can follow the team presentation live on LED screens. The Rheinufer is also a good place to view from, as the cyclists can be seen along here, and the sports area of the Bundeswehr provides for additional entertainment. What's more, catering stands will be set up. The programme of the team presentation will last until about 8 pm.

Lichterfest at Schloss Benrath (Benrath Palace) on Friday 30 June 2017
The Schloss Benrath Lichterfest (Festival of Light) is a classical-music open-air concert of the Düsseldorf Symphoniker with illumination of Schloss Benrath and the Schlosspark (palace park) and a musical firework display which is attended by 10,000 spectators every year.

Tickets are obtainable at: www.schloss-benrath-lichterfest.de

The official reception for the Grand Départ Düsseldorf 2017 will be held at the same time in the palace.

1st stage on Saturday 1st July 2017
The Tour de France 2017 will get off to a start on Saturday, 1st July, with an individual time trial over 14 kilometres through the Düsseldorf City area. Riders will start at the "Messe Düsseldorf" (Düsseldorf Fair Centre) and then continue along the Rhine Bank in the direction of the Altstadt (Old Town). They will sprint over the "Oberkassel" bridge into the Oberkassel district on the left Rhine bank. From there they will return to the city centre over the "Rheinkniebrücke" bridge. The pursuit of the best-time will then continue along the Königsallee, short the "Kö". At the end of the Kö, Düsseldorf's luxury shopping mall, the riders will then enter the Heinrich-Heine-Allee, ride along the Deutsche Oper (opera house) and return onto the Rhine Bank. The following 3.3-kilometre home straight will take them along the Rhine and back to the "Messe", fair centre. The publicity caravan is set to start at 13:45 and the individual time trial at 15:15. The last rider will reach the finish line at around 18:45. Düsseldorfers will be celebrating the Tour with their own street parties, live music and lots of good cheer.

Eight live broadcasts
Also awaiting spectators along the 14-kilometre route on the day of the 1st stage will be a special offering of food and drink. On large LED video walls set up at eight places in the expanded city centre visitors will be able to watch broadcasts of the Tour de France live. The video walls will be integrated into the event stage at the Burgplatz and on the event areas near the "Landtag" (state parliament building), at Grabbeplatz, Graf-Adolf-Platz, Marktplatz, on the "Bürgerwiese" meadows in the Rheinpark, at the "Kö Bogen" and on the picnic meadow on the border of the "Hofgarten" park.

Event venues also offer an attractive programme of music and activities:
•    Central stage at the Burgplatz: In addition to the live broadcast, talks and information will be given about the Grand Départ.
•    International Bürgerwiese at the Rheinpark, south of the "Theodor-Heuss-Brücke" bridge, with live broadcast and join-in activities for everyone and a choice of food and drink
•    Picnic meadow in the "Hofgarten" park with live broadcast, children’s activities and food and drink
•    Event area in front of the "Landtag" (state parliament building) with big screen, stage programme and join-in sporting activities by sports clubs and organisations and information about cycling holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia
•    The German Army’s event area at the Untere Rheinwerft, where various well-known sportspersons will be putting in an appearance

The musical highlight will be the Kraftwerk group's "Tour de France 3D" concert at the Ehrenhof. Supporting act: AIR. Start will be at 19:30. The concert is sold out.

Route: 1st Stage, Saturday, July 1st
On Saturday, July 1, 2017, the Tour de France 2017 will start with a 14-kilometer individual time trial through downtown Düsseldorf. The riders will start at Messe Düsseldorf and ride alongside the Rhine River. They will pass by the Ehrenhof cultural center and sprint across Oberkasseler Bridge to Oberkassel on the left bank of the Rhine.

With a view of the Rheinturm telecommunications tower and the NRW State Parliament, they will go back across the Rheinkniebrücke bridge, past MedienHafen toward the central city. The quest for the best time will continue along Königsallee, a famous shopping street. At the end of the "Kö," the course passes by the Triton Fountain and switches to Heinrich-Heine-Allee before going back to the Rhine embankment, passing the Deutsche Oper.

Then comes the home stretch - 3.3 km along the Rhine and back to the Messe - an ideal stretch where the time-trial competitors can vie for the first yellow jersey. The length of the time trial also gives spectators an early preview of the riders' form for the overall classification.

2nd stage on Sunday 2nd July 2017
The publicity caravan, which will process from the Burgplatz along the stage route through the city at 10:00 on Sunday, 2nd July, will mark the start of the 2nd stage of the Grand Départ. The race proper is set to start at 12:03. The eight kilometre-long "neutralisation" (where the riders cycle ahead slowly and are not timed) will start at the Burgplatz and proceed through the Altstadt (Old Town) in the direction of the Medienhafen (Media harbour). At the "Living Bridge" spanning the harbour basin racers will stop, before continuing through Düsseldorf city centre for the official start in the Fischerstraße. Only when they are there at 12:30 will the racers be expected to get up to full speed.

After the first few level kilometres through the state capital they will ride in the direction of the "Galopprennbahn" (race course). From Grafenberg the course will run through Gerresheim and into the town of Erkrath. The 2nd stage of the Tour de France 2017 will then wind through Neandertal up to Mettmann, before the riders cross Ratingen and from there return to Düsseldorf. It will follow the Rhine crossing over the "Theodor-Heuss-Brücke" bridge, before the riders leave the Düsseldorf City area at the 57-kilometre mark at 14:00.

Seven live broadcasts
At seven points in the expanded city centre visitors can watch live broadcasts of the Tour de France on LED video walls – that is, also after the riders have already left the Düsseldorf city area. The video walls will be integrated into the event stage at the Burgplatz and on the event areas near the "Landtag" (state parliament building), at Grabbeplatz, Graf-Adolf-Platz, Marktplatz, at the "Kö Bogen" and on the "Bürgerwiese" meadow in the Rheinpark.

Event venues also offer an attractive programme of music and activities:
•    Central stage at the Burgplatz: Here, in addition to the live broadcast, there will be talks and information on the theme of the Grand Départ.
•    International Bürgerwiese at the Rheinpark, south of the "Theodor-Heuss-Brücke" bridge, with live broadcast and join-in activities for everyone and an offering of food and drink
•    Event area in front of the "Landtag" (state parliament building) with big screen, stage programme and join-in sporting activities by sports clubs and organisations and information about cycling holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia
•    The German Army’s event area at the Untere Rheinwerft, where various well-known sportspersons will be putting in an appearance

Route: 2nd Stage, Sunday, July 2nd
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.