Cycling's coming home? Copenhagen gears up for Tour de France Grand Départ

Bike-friendly Copenhagen is gearing up to host the start of the world's most famous cycling race.

The Tour de France will begin in the Danish capital on Friday, a spectacle scheduled here in 2021 but postponed due to the COVID pandemic. 

"It’s truly amazing to be welcoming the world’s greatest cycling race!" Copenhagen's Lord Mayor Sophie Hæstorp Andersen told Euronews.

"To us, the Tour de France is a wonderful occasion to promote the famous Danish cycling culture even further and inspire everyone to go biking instead of driving. 

"Because to Danes and Copenhageners, cycling is not just a sport. It’s a way of life, and we are proud to be called the world's best cycling city."

A total of 176 athletes will be hitting the roads in and around Copenhagen for an easy 13 kilometres crisscrossing city streets and waterways, past royal palaces and parks in front of thousands of cheering spectators. 

The gruelling work starts on the second day with a 199-km ride from Roskilde to Nyborg; followed by day three which sees racers set off from the town of Vejle on a 182km route to Sønderborg. 

"I’m really looking forward to the whole city coming together around the Tour. I have been counting the days, and now we’re so close! I cannot wait to see the riders in town. Ever since I was young, I’ve watched the Tour de France on TV, and whenever I have the chance, I go cycling myself," said Hæstorp Andersen.

Copenhagen in particular is making the most of this moment in the spotlight of the cycling world. Local residents have watched as some popular landmarks have been swathed in yellow, a nod to the yellow jersey given to race leaders. 

A fan park will show the progress of the Tour racers on giant screens, and amateur cyclists will get to try the