Tour de France to depart from Brussels in 2019

100 years after the creation of the Yellow Jersey, 50 years after the first triumph by five times winner Eddy Merckx, the Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2019 will take place in Brussels

The famous Manneken Pis gets dressed up to celebrate the Tour Source: ASO

The Belgian capital will follow on from Düsseldorf, from which the riders will set off for the first stage on 1st July, and the Vendée in the Pays de la Loire region, which will host the Grand Départ in July 2018.

Brussels hosted a stage finish in the first post-war edition of Le Tour, in 1947. The race witnessed a stage outside the French borders (an event that only occurred twice before the Second World War) when the pack headed to Brussels on the second day.

Since then, the Belgian capital has welcomed the Grand Boucle ten times and ten stage finishes or half-stages have taken place there.

In 2019, for the centenary of the yellow jersey, Brussels will be hosting the Grand Départ as Eddy Merckx, the man with the most stage wins on the race, will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of his first victory.

Eddy Merckx checks out preparations for the Tour de France depart in his native Belgium Source: ASO