In a move to continue promoting Barcelona as an international sports capital for major events, the First Deputy Mayor for Economy, Employment, Competitiveness and Taxation, Jaume Collboni, along with the Councillor for Sport, David Escudé, held a meeting this morning at the City Hall with Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France, to look at various options for Barcelona to become the starting point for this major event during the next term of office. Also present at the meeting was Javier Guillén, director of La Vuelta, and Ruben Perís, director of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya.

The Tour last came to Barcelona in 2009. The event passed through the city on 9 and 10 July, with stage 6 covering a distance of 175 kilometres between Girona and Barcelona, and stage 7 covering 224 kilometres between Barcelona and Andorra.

The First Deputy Mayor for Economy, Employment, Competitiveness and Taxation, Jaume Collboni, noted that “Barcelona can become one of the only cities in the world to host the main global sports events: the Football World Cup in 1982, the Olympic Games in 1992, and now, the start of the Tour”.

The Deputy Mayor also added that this development builds on the work of the last few years. “During this term of office we’ve been working to regain the spirit which enabled us to open up to the world through major sports events, as we believe the alliance between Barcelona and sport multiplies the benefits for the city and for the competitions it hosts. That’s why, with the upcoming editions of La Vuelta and the America’s Cup, we’d like to add the grandeur of an event such as the Tour”.  Collboni added that this effort shows that “Barcelona is in good shape”.

Barcelona as a city committed to cycling

The announcement of the start of negotiations with the Tour comes just one day after the Palau de la Música Catalana hosted the presentation of La Vuelta 23, which this year sets off from Barcelona and will go through the city in the first two stages.

After 61 years, and for the second time in its history, the city will be hosting the start of the event, with a team event against the clock on 26 August covering an urban circuit of 14.6 kilometres. The second day (27 August) sees the event set off from Mataró, ending up in Barcelona again at the gates of the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium having covered a distance of 181.3 kilometres.