The Tour de France created the “Tour de France Cycle City” label in 2021 as part of its “Riding into the Future” cycling promotion programme, which supports all municipal initiatives to promote daily cycling.
A.S.O. received applications from 34 cities for this second season, four of which are outside of France. This year, 14 of the candidate cities are on the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift route, while six are on the route of the 2022 edition. Paris is the only city that has expressed interest in hosting both events. On Thursday, April 14th, the deliberations will take place. On Wednesday, May 11th, 2022, the jury’s ruling will be announced.
This year’s candidate communities range in size from small to large, rural to metropolitan, French to European, but they all have one goal in common: to promote cycling as a mode of transportation. Following the application round, the Tour’s organizers received a comprehensive dossier from 34 cities. The measures that have already been implemented are detailed in the candidate dossiers. And the short- and medium-term development plans undertaken at the municipal level to boost cycling (deployment of infrastructure, improvement of cycling safety, learning to ride a bike, parking and the fight against theft, maintenance and repair, promotional tools, etc.). All of these factors contribute to the growth of cycling as a mode of transportation, a recreational activity, and a necessary form of exercise.
The Tour de France’s European friends have once again answered the call for this second edition: Denmark (Copenhagen, host city of the 2022 Grand Départ), Luxembourg (Esch-sur-Alzette), and Switzerland (Lausanne) are presenting candidacies for the first time, while the Netherlands, who were already involved last year through Rotterdam, are represented by Valkenburg, host city of the Amstel Gold Race. Fourteen French cities from the 2022 Tour de France route and six locations from the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift route, as well as Paris, the only candidate city hosting both events on Sunday, July 24th, have submitted their candidacy.
Eleven cities have populations of less than 10,000 people, including the three smallest cities, Saint-Lary-Soulan (844 residents), L’Alpe d’Huez (1,350 inhabitants), and Saint-Chaffrey (1,530 inhabitants). Thirteen other cities that had previously hosted the Grande Boucle wanted to bid as well. The jury is now analysing all of the applications and will make its judgement during the “Mai à Vélo” campaign on Wednesday, May 11th, 2022.
The jury for the “Tour de France Cycle City” label is made up of the following people:
Christian Prudhomme, Tour de France director; Olivier Schneider, FUB president; Émilie Defay, France Bleu Paris deputy editor-in-chief; David Lazarus, mayor of Chambly and president of the French Mayors’ Association’s “Sports” working group; Jean Ghedira, LCL’s director of communication, sponsorship, and general secretariat; Karine Bozzacchi, Tour de France’s head of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility).
Cities that have applied for the 2022 award process include:
Albi, Alpe d’Huez, Antony, Argelès-Gazost, Arras, Bar-le-Duc, Belfort, Calais, Carcassonne, Châteauroux, Copenhagen (Denmark), Dole, Épernay, Esch-sur-Alzette (Luxembourg), Foix, Lausanne (Switzerland), Lourdes, Meaux, Mende, Morzine Avoriaz, Mulhouse, Nanterre, Paris, Reims, Rosheim, Saint-Chaffrey, Saint-Étienne, Saint-Gervais, Saint-Lary-Soulan, Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, Sélestat, Tomblaine, Valkenburg (Netherlands), Villers-sur-Mer.
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