THE ROUTE
The 1958 Tour also had its
Grand Départ in Brussels,
under the brand-new
Atomium constructed for
the World Fair held in the
Belgian capital that year.
THE GRAND DÉPART
MERCKX CLASSIC
Five-times Tour de France winner Eddy Merckx will be the focal point of the Grand
Départ in Brussels as he celebrates 50 years since his first victory. Classics climbs and
cobbles feature on Stage 1, which should favour the sprinters, while Stage 2 is a team time
trial, the test that saw The Cannibal pull on the first of his yellow jerseys. BY QUENTIN FINNÉ
hen Christian
Prudhomme
launched the
2019 Tour de
France last October, he
invited Belgium’s greatest
cyclist to join him on stage.
“He is the greatest symbol
of the yellow jersey,”
explained the Tour Director.
“I’m therefore particularly
happy that, on the centenary
of this legendary garment,
our event will start in the city
of the champion who has
worn it most often.”
Indeed, over the course
W
70 | TO U R
D E F R A NC E 2019
of his career, Eddy Merckx
wore the Tour’s jersey a
record 111 times. This year
also marks 50 years since
‘The Cannibal’ took the first
of his five Tour victories
in 1969. “It was definitely
my most beautiful Tour
success,” says Merckx.
“I’m extremely happy to
see the world’s biggest race
set out from Brussels to
mark this occasion.”
To pay tribute to Merckx,
the race organisers have
included various places
of significance along the
opening stages.
The riders will set out
on Saturday 6 July from
Brussels’ Grand-Place,
which is where Merckx
was welcomed as a hero
following his victory in
1969. This first stage, which
extends to 194.5km, will
also pass through Enghien,
where Merckx won his first
Tour stage; Woluwé-Saint-
Pierre, the suburb where
he grew up; Etterbeek,
where he studied; and
Laeken, where he made his
competitive debut.
Legendary climbs
The first day will also be
spiced up by two legendary
Belgian climbs: the Mur de
Grammont and the Bosberg,
for a long time key points on
the Tour of Flanders and now
the race-deciding climbs in
Het Nieuwsblad.
“These are two of our
sport’s most emblematic
places and have a special
place in the heart of every
bike lover,” explains Thierry
Gouvenou, the grand
designer of the Tour route.
We wanted to climb the Mur