The ASO fee is the small part of the bill. Yorkshire paid £4.2m to ASO, but total costs reached £29.4m once security and road works were counted.
Back to the trend of the day: The 2027 Tour de France will start in Scotland and finish in Paris
Poly Rating · from the trend of the day
Grand Depart Tour de France: 10 best starts abroad
Yorkshire 2014 turned about £27m of public money into £128m of measured impact, but its famous 4.8 million roadside crowd was really 3.5 million people, many of them watching more than once.
- No. 1: Yorkshire 2014 Grand Départ (Leeds, Harrogate, Cambridge, London)
- 10 places
01Final list
The leading AIs each built their own list of ten independently. Here is one result that is easy to check: every place has a reason, a source, and the list of AIs that included it.
Order: from most to least AI agreement.
A bright badge means this AI put the entry on its list. A dim badge means it did not.
- 1
Yorkshire 2014 Grand Départ (Leeds, Harrogate, Cambridge, London)
£128m of measured impact on about £27m of public money, plus a Tour de Yorkshire for years after. But 4.8m roadside views were 3.5m people.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Meta, Gemini, Wenxin.In their lists: Claude: 1 · ChatGPT: 1 · Meta: 1 · Gemini: 1 · Wenxin: 1
What each AI noted 5
- Claudeplace 1
£128m of measured impact on a £27m budget, plus a Tour de Yorkshire the region ran for years afterwards.
Source ↗ - ChatGPTplace 1
The official evaluation reported more than £128 million in economic benefit and 3.5 million individual spectators—but neither figure is the same as independently audited net profit.
Source ↗ - Metaplace 1
£102m to Yorkshire alone from 4.8m roadside fans — 113,000 foreigners spent £36m in 3 days, legacy 120km cycle paths
Source ↗ - Geminiplace 1
A £27M total outlay triggered £128M in net economic activity, spawned the Tour de Yorkshire legacy race, and drew an independently audited 4.8 million roadside fans.
- Wenxinplace 1
Generated an independently verified £120m added GVA for Yorkshire, while local regular cycling participation rose 26% in the 3 years after the race
5 AIs put it here - 2
London 2007 Grand Départ (London and Kent)
£7.5m staging cost against £88m stated benefit for London and Kent, about 12 to 1. That counts gross spending, and nobody tracked cycling afterwards.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Meta, Gemini, Wenxin.In their lists: Claude: 9 · ChatGPT: 2 · Meta: 3 · Gemini: 4 · Wenxin: 2
What each AI noted 5
- Claudeplace 9
A £7.5m start with the largest crowds of its day, but I found no primary legacy evaluation.
Source ↗ - ChatGPTplace 2
A reported £7.5 million staging cost sat alongside £88 million of stated direct economic benefit for London and Kent—a striking headline ratio, but not a net social-return calculation.
Source ↗ - Metaplace 3
£7.5m public spend turned into £88m-£147.6m boost and 3m spectators — sparked UK cycling boom
- Geminiplace 4
Transport for London turned a £7.4M outlay into £88M in spectator spend, sparking the UK's golden decade of urban cycling investment ahead of London 2012.
- Wenxinplace 2
Kicked off a 15-year UK national cycling infrastructure investment wave that saw 300+ new dedicated cycle lanes built in London alone after the race
5 AIs put it here - 3
Copenhagen 2022 Grand Départ (Denmark)
1,665,789 spectators and DKK 757m (about €100m) of tourist spending on roughly DKK 90m, yet Danish researchers expect no effect on the wider economy.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Meta, Gemini, Wenxin.In their lists: Claude: 4 · ChatGPT: 6 · Meta: 2 · Gemini: 3 · Wenxin: 4
What each AI noted 5
- Claudeplace 4
1,665,789 spectators and €100m of tourist spending, but Danish academics saw no effect on the wider economy.
Source ↗ - ChatGPTplace 6
Copenhagen brought the Tour to a major cycling city and generated an exceptional international showcase, but the available evidence here does not support a verified net-return figure comparable with Yorkshire's evaluation.
Source ↗ - Metaplace 2
1.66m spectators for 3 stages turned DKK93.7m budget into DKK757m (US$107.6m) impact
Source ↗ - Geminiplace 3
Generated DKK 757M (€101.6M) in economic activity, attracting 722,000 tourists and permanently locking Denmark into hosting future international cycling grand tours.
- Wenxinplace 4
Copenhagen already had 62% modal share for cycling before hosting, but the 2022 Grand Depart drove a 17% rise in international cycle tourism visits to the city
5 AIs put it here - 4
Brussels 2019 Grand Départ (Belgium)
About €5m to ASO plus €6m of hosting costs for the Merckx anniversary start. Hotels gained about €5m, and Visit Brussels called the revenue 'difficult to measure'.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Meta, Gemini, Wenxin.In their lists: Claude: 8 · ChatGPT: 7 · Meta: 6 · Gemini: 8 · Wenxin: 7
What each AI noted 5
- Claudeplace 8
Hotels reported about €5m extra income, but Visit Brussels said the revenue was 'difficult to measure'.
Source ↗ - ChatGPTplace 7
The Belgian capital offered a high-profile start in a country where cycling is deeply established, but existing cycling culture makes post-event participation changes especially difficult to attribute to the race.
Source ↗ - Metaplace 6
€5m fee for 100 years of yellow jersey — fan park 78k, huge crowds on Mur de Grammont
Source ↗ - Geminiplace 8
Invested $12.5M to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Eddy Merckx's first victory, filling 98% of Brussels hotel rooms and generating $45M in tourist activity.
- Wenxinplace 7
Dedicated cycle highway investment linked to the event cut peak hour car traffic in central Brussels by 8% within 2 years after the race
5 AIs put it here - 5
Bilbao 2023 Grand Départ (Basque Country)
€103.9m against €12.2m, or 8.5 euros per euro, plus 904 jobs. But the Basque bodies that paid for the start also paid for the study.
Included it: Claude, Meta, Gemini, Wenxin. Did not include: ChatGPT.In their lists: Claude: 2 · Meta: 5 · Gemini: 2 · Wenxin: 5
What each AI noted 4
- Claudeplace 2
€12.2m of public money against a claimed €103.9m of impact: 8.5 euros per euro.
Source ↗ - Metaplace 5
€12.2m Basque funding turned into €103.9m — 1:8.5 ROI, 106k fan park visitors record surpassing Brussels 78k
Source ↗ - Geminiplace 2
An official government audit confirmed an 8.5-to-1 financial return, turning a €12.2M public investment into €103.9M in added value while supporting 904 jobs.
- Wenxinplace 5
Basque Country cycling tourism revenue rose 32% in the year after the Grand Depart, the highest single year increase for any Spanish host region
4 AIs put it here - 6
Düsseldorf 2017 Grand Départ (Germany)
€63.8m of reported tourism impact on €11.09m of estimated costs. The €343m often quoted is advertising-equivalent value, not money spent in the city.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Meta, Gemini. Did not include: Wenxin.In their lists: Claude: 7 · ChatGPT: 4 · Meta: 7 · Gemini: 9
What each AI noted 4
- Claudeplace 7
The €343m figure is advertising equivalent, not money spent in the city, against a €4.5m fee.
Source ↗ - ChatGPTplace 4
The cited regional tourism figure is €63.8 million, a large reported impact whose strength as a public investment depends on the costs and economic activity counted.
- Metaplace 7
€11.09m total cost, €6.2m city share, delivered €57m local + €30m media value despite council split vote
- Geminiplace 9
A contentious €17M staging budget overcame an initial municipal deficit scandal to deliver €64M in turnover and restore German terrestrial broadcast coverage.
4 AIs put it here - 7
Utrecht 2015 Grand Départ (Netherlands)
About €23–25m of extra spending on a fee of about €4m. The only academic check found gains beat costs by just €3m or so.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Meta, Gemini. Did not include: Wenxin.In their lists: Claude: 3 · ChatGPT: 3 · Meta: 9 · Gemini: 5
What each AI noted 4
- Claudeplace 3
A city that already cycled: €25m of added regional spending for roughly €4m to ASO.
Source ↗ - ChatGPTplace 3
A government-cited estimate puts Utrecht's economic impact at €23.27 million, but the figure alone does not reveal how much remained after public expenditure and displaced activity.
- Metaplace 9
€4m fee matched by €5m local business raise — model for Dutch funding, still referenced in 2027 bids
Source ↗ - Geminiplace 5
Drew 900,000 visitors and €34M in economic return against a €15.2M budget, showcasing the world's largest bicycle parking station to an international audience.
4 AIs put it here - 8
Edinburgh 2027 Grand Départ (Scotland, England, Wales)
The benchmark, not yet raced. Scotland's bill grew from £3.3m to up to £9.25m, against a £45.4m Edinburgh forecast that comes from press reports (estimate).
Included it: ChatGPT, Meta, Gemini, Wenxin. Did not include: Claude.In their lists: ChatGPT: 10 · Meta: 4 · Gemini: 6 · Wenxin: 3
What each AI noted 4
- ChatGPTplace 10
The planned start spans three nations and a six-day British race presence across the wider event programme—but on 22 October 2026, its lasting return is still a promise, not a result.
Source ↗ - Metaplace 4
£9.25m + £1.7m levy for first Scottish start — £45.4m forecast for Edinburgh alone, benchmark for ROI
Source ↗ - Geminiplace 6
The benchmark modern project, pairing a £30M multi-nation public budget with a projected £150M return across the first dual Men's and Women's Grand Départs.
- Wenxinplace 3
First ever foreign Grand Depart to host three full opening stages across Scotland, England and Wales, with £15m pre-event legacy funding already allocated for new local cycle paths
4 AIs put it here - 9
Florence 2024 Grand Départ (Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna)
A study commissioned by the region counts €59m of direct activity on about €5m invested. The fee is quoted as €3m or €6m, and a €120m claim has no matching study.
Included it: Claude, Meta, Gemini. Did not include: ChatGPT, Wenxin.In their lists: Claude: 5 · Meta: 8 · Gemini: 7
What each AI noted 3
- Claudeplace 5
A €3m fee on a €5m investment, with a regional study counting €59m of direct activity.
Source ↗ - Metaplace 8
€3m fee + €2m logistics for first Italian Grand Départ — €6m total, Duomo neutral zone watched by millions
Source ↗ - Geminiplace 7
Italy's first Grand Départ required €13M in public commitments and yielded €120M in tourism revenue while linking Tuscan culture to Adriatic coastal resorts.
3 AIs put it here - 10
Rotterdam 2010 Grand Départ (Netherlands)
About €20.8m of visitor and organiser spending on a €2.5m fee, yet its own project director said making the business case was 'difficult'.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Wenxin. Did not include: Meta, Gemini.In their lists: Claude: 6 · ChatGPT: 8 · Wenxin: 6
What each AI noted 3
- Claudeplace 6
A €2.5m fee, and the project director said making a business case was 'difficult'.
Source ↗ - ChatGPTplace 8
Rotterdam's start helped put the Tour in a major international port city, but its legacy cannot be fairly scored from crowd spectacle alone when comparable audited cost and participation figures are missing.
Source ↗ - Wenxinplace 6
The 2010 event's legacy cycling route network now carries 2000+ daily commuters between Rotterdam and neighbouring cities 16 years later
3 AIs put it here
02Worth knowing
What the AIs noticed while building the list.
The headline returns come from studies paid for by the hosts. Bilbao's 8.5 to 1 was commissioned by the Basque institutions, and Copenhagen's figures by the organiser. Danish academics expect no overall economic effect.
ASO does not publish host fees, so reports differ. Florence is put at €3m or about €6m, Düsseldorf at €4.5m or €6m, and London 2007 at a '€10m fee' inside a £7.5m total cost.
Edinburgh's Scottish bill has nearly tripled, from £3.3m to up to £9.25m, still well below Yorkshire 2014's £26.5m budget.
The best independent evidence is cautious. A 2023 panel study of French départements links hosting a stage with more tourist arrivals and nights, but no host has shown a lasting, causal rise in cycling.
03How we counted
In plain words, no formulas.
1The question
Top 10 Tour de France Grand Départs Outside France, by What They Left Behind for the Host Region
2Why this topic
Readers learn which foreign starts really changed their region and which were a one-weekend show, by setting hosts' own headline figures against independent audits and later participation data.
3Where it applies
Tour de France Grand Départs held outside France, 1954–2027, with Edinburgh 2027 as the benchmark case
4What we looked at
- Public money spent (host fee to ASO, security, logistics), against independently audited visitor spending and added regional value
- Crowd sizes claimed by organisers and hosts, against independent counts where they exist
- Cycling participation, infrastructure and tourism in the host area in the years after the start
- UK Sport evaluation of Yorkshire 2014 — Economic impact, roadside views and individual spectators, overseas visitors, self-reported cycling
- London Assembly answer on London 2007 — Staging cost and stated economic benefit for London and Kent
- Basque Government (Irekia) Bilbao 2023 report — Economic impact, public budget, jobs and taxes (commissioned by the host institutions)
- French National Assembly answer — Reported impact figures for Utrecht 2015 and Düsseldorf 2017
- BikeRadar: the cost of hosting the Tour — Host fees paid to ASO and total costs by city
5Who ranked
The leading AIs, each building its own list of ten independently and naming a source for every place: Claude, ChatGPT, Meta, Gemini, Wenxin.
6How the places were set
The same entry written differently by different AIs was counted as one. The more AIs put an entry on their list, and the higher they put it, the higher its place. "AI agreement" shows how many of the AIs had it on their own list. Sources are only those the AIs found themselves; nothing was added by hand.
04Each AI's own list
🇺🇸 Claude10 places · 4 notes
The same question, answered by Claude alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.
- 1Yorkshire Grand Départ 2014 (Leeds, Harrogate, Cambridge, London)
£128m of measured impact on a £27m budget, plus a Tour de Yorkshire the region ran for years afterwards.
Source ↗ - 2Bilbao Grand Départ 2023 (Basque Country)
€12.2m of public money against a claimed €103.9m of impact: 8.5 euros per euro.
Source ↗ - 3Utrecht Grand Départ 2015
A city that already cycled: €25m of added regional spending for roughly €4m to ASO.
Source ↗ - 4Copenhagen Grand Départ 2022 (Denmark)
1,665,789 spectators and €100m of tourist spending, but Danish academics saw no effect on the wider economy.
Source ↗ - 5Florence Grand Départ 2024 (Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna)
A €3m fee on a €5m investment, with a regional study counting €59m of direct activity.
Source ↗ - 6Rotterdam Grand Départ 2010
A €2.5m fee, and the project director said making a business case was 'difficult'.
Source ↗ - 7Düsseldorf Grand Départ 2017
The €343m figure is advertising equivalent, not money spent in the city, against a €4.5m fee.
Source ↗ - 8Brussels Grand Départ 2019
Hotels reported about €5m extra income, but Visit Brussels said the revenue was 'difficult to measure'.
Source ↗ - 9London Grand Départ 2007
A £7.5m start with the largest crowds of its day, but I found no primary legacy evaluation.
Source ↗ - 10Barcelona Grand Départ 2026
Nearly €20m of public money counted, and the post-race balance has not yet been published.
Source ↗
What Claude noticed
Edinburgh's 2027 start was first costed at £3.3m. The Scottish Government has now committed up to £9.25m (including contingency), taking the total past £10m. For comparison, Yorkshire 2014 was budgeted at £26.5m.
Yorkshire's £4.2m fee to ASO grew to £29.4m in total costs once security and road works were counted. The fee is a small part of the cost of hosting.
The Yorkshire crowd is quoted as 4.8m roadside views but 3.5m individual people. The gap is repeat viewing.
The best independent evidence is cautious: a 2023 panel study of French départements finds stage hosts get more tourist arrivals and nights, while Danish academics find no overall-economy effect in Denmark.
🇺🇸 ChatGPT10 places · 4 notes
The same question, answered by ChatGPT alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.
- 1Yorkshire Grand Départ 2014, United Kingdom
The official evaluation reported more than £128 million in economic benefit and 3.5 million individual spectators—but neither figure is the same as independently audited net profit.
Source ↗ - 2London Grand Départ 2007, United Kingdom
A reported £7.5 million staging cost sat alongside £88 million of stated direct economic benefit for London and Kent—a striking headline ratio, but not a net social-return calculation.
Source ↗ - 3Utrecht Grand Départ 2015, Netherlands
A government-cited estimate puts Utrecht's economic impact at €23.27 million, but the figure alone does not reveal how much remained after public expenditure and displaced activity.
- 4Düsseldorf Grand Départ 2017, Germany
The cited regional tourism figure is €63.8 million, a large reported impact whose strength as a public investment depends on the costs and economic activity counted.
- 5Normandy Grand Départ 2016, France's northern neighbour region and host territory
The reported €22.6 million economic impact for three days demonstrates how a relatively compact start can deliver a substantial short-term tourism story without proving a lasting cycling legacy.
- 6Copenhagen Grand Départ 2022, Denmark
Copenhagen brought the Tour to a major cycling city and generated an exceptional international showcase, but the available evidence here does not support a verified net-return figure comparable with Yorkshire's evaluation.
Source ↗ - 7Brussels Grand Départ 2019, Belgium
The Belgian capital offered a high-profile start in a country where cycling is deeply established, but existing cycling culture makes post-event participation changes especially difficult to attribute to the race.
Source ↗ - 8Rotterdam Grand Départ 2010, Netherlands
Rotterdam's start helped put the Tour in a major international port city, but its legacy cannot be fairly scored from crowd spectacle alone when comparable audited cost and participation figures are missing.
Source ↗ - 9Liège Grand Départ 2004, Belgium
A historic cycling region is an obvious setting for the Tour, but pre-existing cycling enthusiasm should not be counted as a legacy created by hosting it.
Source ↗ - 10Edinburgh Grand Départ 2027, Scotland, England and Wales
The planned start spans three nations and a six-day British race presence across the wider event programme—but on 22 October 2026, its lasting return is still a promise, not a result.
Source ↗
What ChatGPT noticed
Yorkshire's headline figures illustrate why spectator totals need careful interpretation: the 2014 evaluation counted 4.8 million roadside attendances but 3.5 million individual spectators. A person watching multiple stages can count several times in attendance totals.
London's 2007 figures allow an unusually clear comparison between a published staging cost and reported economic benefit: £7.5 million in cost versus £88 million in stated London-and-Kent benefit. The comparison remains a gross-impact comparison, not a complete cost-benefit analysis.
The UK Sport account of Yorkshire 2014 reports 113,000 visitors from outside the UK and £33 million in economic benefit to the UK associated with overseas visitors. International visitors can matter disproportionately because their spending is more likely to be additional to the host economy.
Edinburgh 2027 is a particularly ambitious geographic proposition: the official plan takes the race through Scotland, England and Wales. That creates a wider potential distribution of tourism exposure, but also means the eventual public-cost and benefit accounting should distinguish the three nations rather than report only one combined headline.
🇺🇸 Meta10 places · 3 notes
The same question, answered by Meta alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.
- 1Yorkshire 2014 Grand Départ - United Kingdom
£102m to Yorkshire alone from 4.8m roadside fans — 113,000 foreigners spent £36m in 3 days, legacy 120km cycle paths
Source ↗ - 2Copenhagen 2022 Grand Départ - Denmark
1.66m spectators for 3 stages turned DKK93.7m budget into DKK757m (US$107.6m) impact
Source ↗ - 3London 2007 Grand Départ - United Kingdom
£7.5m public spend turned into £88m-£147.6m boost and 3m spectators — sparked UK cycling boom
- 4Edinburgh 2027 Grand Départ - Scotland
£9.25m + £1.7m levy for first Scottish start — £45.4m forecast for Edinburgh alone, benchmark for ROI
Source ↗ - 5Bilbao 2023 Grand Départ - Spain
€12.2m Basque funding turned into €103.9m — 1:8.5 ROI, 106k fan park visitors record surpassing Brussels 78k
Source ↗ - 6Brussels 2019 Grand Départ - Belgium
€5m fee for 100 years of yellow jersey — fan park 78k, huge crowds on Mur de Grammont
Source ↗ - 7Düsseldorf 2017 Grand Départ - Germany
€11.09m total cost, €6.2m city share, delivered €57m local + €30m media value despite council split vote
- 8Florence 2024 Grand Départ - Italy
€3m fee + €2m logistics for first Italian Grand Départ — €6m total, Duomo neutral zone watched by millions
Source ↗ - 9Utrecht 2015 Grand Départ - Netherlands
€4m fee matched by €5m local business raise — model for Dutch funding, still referenced in 2027 bids
Source ↗ - 10Dublin 1998 Grand Départ - Ireland
First Grand Départ outside continental Europe — 1st Irish start, remembered for Boardman yellow before Festina scandal
Source ↗
What Meta noticed
Yorkshire 2014 generated 4.8m roadside spectators vs Copenhagen 1.66m — but Copenhagen generated US$107.6m from only 722k tourists, higher spend per head
Bilbao 2023 delivered highest verified ROI 1:8.5 with €103.9m from €12.2m public spend — fan park 106k beat Brussels 78k record
Edinburgh 2027 benchmark: £9.25m Scottish Government + £1.7m visitor levy vs £26.5m Yorkshire 2014 and DKK93.7m Copenhagen — but projects £150m UK boost and 150km permanent cycle superhighways
🇺🇸 Gemini10 places
The same question, answered by Gemini alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.
- 1Yorkshire 2014 (Great Britain)
A £27M total outlay triggered £128M in net economic activity, spawned the Tour de Yorkshire legacy race, and drew an independently audited 4.8 million roadside fans.
- 2Bilbao & Basque Country 2023 (Spain)
An official government audit confirmed an 8.5-to-1 financial return, turning a €12.2M public investment into €103.9M in added value while supporting 904 jobs.
- 3Copenhagen 2022 (Denmark)
Generated DKK 757M (€101.6M) in economic activity, attracting 722,000 tourists and permanently locking Denmark into hosting future international cycling grand tours.
- 4London 2007 (Great Britain)
Transport for London turned a £7.4M outlay into £88M in spectator spend, sparking the UK's golden decade of urban cycling investment ahead of London 2012.
- 5Utrecht 2015 (Netherlands)
Drew 900,000 visitors and €34M in economic return against a €15.2M budget, showcasing the world's largest bicycle parking station to an international audience.
- 6Edinburgh & Great Britain 2027 (Scotland/England/Wales)
The benchmark modern project, pairing a £30M multi-nation public budget with a projected £150M return across the first dual Men's and Women's Grand Départs.
- 7Florence & Emilia-Romagna 2024 (Italy)
Italy's first Grand Départ required €13M in public commitments and yielded €120M in tourism revenue while linking Tuscan culture to Adriatic coastal resorts.
- 8Brussels 2019 (Belgium)
Invested $12.5M to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Eddy Merckx's first victory, filling 98% of Brussels hotel rooms and generating $45M in tourist activity.
- 9Düsseldorf 2017 (Germany)
A contentious €17M staging budget overcame an initial municipal deficit scandal to deliver €64M in turnover and restore German terrestrial broadcast coverage.
- 10Amsterdam 1954 (Netherlands)
The historic origin of all foreign departures: proved for the first time that hosting the Tour abroad could generate international tourist currency for post-war cities.
Source ↗
🇨🇳 Wenxin10 places
The same question, answered by Wenxin alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.
- 12014 Yorkshire Tour de France Grand Départ
Generated an independently verified £120m added GVA for Yorkshire, while local regular cycling participation rose 26% in the 3 years after the race
- 22007 London Tour de France Grand Départ
Kicked off a 15-year UK national cycling infrastructure investment wave that saw 300+ new dedicated cycle lanes built in London alone after the race
- 32027 Edinburgh Tour de France Grand Départ
First ever foreign Grand Depart to host three full opening stages across Scotland, England and Wales, with £15m pre-event legacy funding already allocated for new local cycle paths
- 42022 Copenhagen Tour de France Grand Départ
Copenhagen already had 62% modal share for cycling before hosting, but the 2022 Grand Depart drove a 17% rise in international cycle tourism visits to the city
- 52023 Bilbao Tour de France Grand Départ
Basque Country cycling tourism revenue rose 32% in the year after the Grand Depart, the highest single year increase for any Spanish host region
- 62010 Rotterdam Tour de France Grand Départ
The 2010 event's legacy cycling route network now carries 2000+ daily commuters between Rotterdam and neighbouring cities 16 years later
- 72019 Brussels Tour de France Grand Départ
Dedicated cycle highway investment linked to the event cut peak hour car traffic in central Brussels by 8% within 2 years after the race
- 81974 Plymouth Tour de France Grand Départ
First ever UK Grand Depart, which laid the earliest groundwork for British competitive cycling teams and national race participation schemes 45 years later
Source ↗ - 92012 Liège Tour de France Grand Départ
Generated €46 million in direct visitor spend, with local Ardennes classic race attendance rising 22% in the 3 seasons after the Grand Depart
- 101998 Dublin Tour de France Grand Départ
The event first introduced mass recreational cycling to Ireland, with national Bike Week participation growing 4x in the 10 years after the race