The stages promise to be tough but the municipality wants to believe it: in 2025, it wants to put Thionville on the Tour de France map. According to Mayor Pierre Cuny, the city will have the resources that year to enter the Grande Boucle.
–
Today at 07:00
The memory remains intact in the mind of Pierre Cuny. In 1999, the Tour de France caravan parked in Thionville. The stage, coming from Avesnes-sur-Helpe, delivered an explosive finale. At the end of an exhilarating sprint, “Super Mario” Cipollini raised his arms to the sky as he crossed the finish line: “How can we forget him? », breathes the mayor.
In 2019, he tried to imitate the Transalpine by waging a solid battle to bring the Grande Boucle back to the city: “It didn’t go far…” More precisely 198 km from the Moselle city, near Reims. Behind the scenes, the former president of the Grand-Est region Jean Rottner pleaded for the Thionville cause. At the photo finish, it was ultimately Arnaud Robinet, mayor of Reims, who hit the jackpot. Enough to establish the reputation of the city of coronations…
Esch-sur-Alzette in the Thionville wheel?
This failure consummate, the mayor decided to get back in the saddle. At the start of 2024, he will submit a new application to the organizing company of the Tour de France, Amaury Sports Organization (ASO). In his sights, a stage arrival or departure of the 2025 edition. Patrick Weiten, the president of the Department, would already be in the loop.
Several factors explain the choice of this deadline. In two years, Lille will give the grand inaugural start. This geographical proximity to Hauts-de-France makes it possible to consider a detour via the Moselle. Another reason for hope: in 2025, Thionville will be able to absorb an event of this scale. The brand new Jean-Burger sports complex could notably be transformed “into a press center”, imagines Pierre Cuny. Which does not exclude taking the Luxembourg town of Esch-sur-Alzette into its wheel: “I will speak to the new mayor on this subject. On a symbolic level, combining our two cities on each side of the border would have some appeal. »
€110,000 arrival
A pitfall, however, on the road to this quest: the cost of the ordeal. In 2021, the amount was €65,000 for a departure, €110,000 for an arrival and €160,000 for a departure and an arrival. To appreciate the expense at its true value, we must remember the benefits of a visit to the Tour de France. If each year 200 cities apply, on average, to snatch a piece of the route, it is above all for the promise of a short-term return on investment. Hotels, restaurants, shops: the immense popularity of the event attracts a large audience.
The Tour provides another benefit: in terms of image, it is difficult to do better. The third most widely broadcast event in the world (behind the Olympics and the Football World Cup), the Grande Boucle generates long-term media exposure. That Thionville enjoys its little quarter of an hour of glory on a global scale would certainly not displease Pierre Cuny.
#Moselle #Tour #France #Thionville #enter #Grande #Boucle
