Ireland agrees bid to host Tour de France again

Agreement to present a joint North-South bid follows talks between Minister Catherine Martin and Gordon Lyons, Minister for the Economy in the Northern Ireland Executive.

British cyclist Chris Boardman wearing the yellow jersey before the first stage of the 85th Tour de France around Dublin 12 July. ( (Photo PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP via Getty Images)

The island of Ireland will bid to host the opening stages of the Tour de France in either 2026 or 2027.

Agreement to present a joint North-South bid follows talks between Minister Catherine Martin — the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media — and Gordon Lyons, Minister for the Economy in the Northern Ireland Executive.

An expression of interest in the formal bidding process has been submitted to the Tour organisers and officials north and south will now develop a detailed hosting bid. 

The opening stages of the Tour were previously held in the Republic in 1998. The race began in Dublin, travelled through the Wicklow Gap, with stage three ending in Cork. 

The race will start in Bilbao, Spain next year.

Catherine Martin T.D said: “Hosting the world’s greatest cycle race would be an exciting opportunity for the island of Ireland. I was delighted to meet Minister Lyons again during my recent trip to Belfast and to agree to express a joint interest in hosting three full stages for Le Grand Départ of the Tour de France, ideally in 2026 or 2027. 

"Our shared experience in hosting major sports events, our cooperative approach in marketing the entire island of Ireland as a tourism destination, and the wonderful scenery and céad míle fáilte that awaits visitors to Ireland could all combine to create an amazing all-island event. This collaborative process has my full support and I will engage with colleagues across Government on this in the coming weeks.” 

Gordon Lyons MLA, added: “Securing the opening stages of the Tour de France would be a fantastic opportunity for Northern Ireland to feature on the world stage and add to the growing list of major sporting events that have come here in recent years. People will fondly remember the success of the Giro d’Italia ‘Big Start’ in 2014, and I am confident that together we would be able to successfully host the Grand Depart. Major events such as this not only bring about huge economic benefits but give us a tremendous opportunity to showcase everything that is great about Northern Ireland.”