The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) has announced that the 2021 Tour de France Grande Pearl will officially move from Copenhagen and start in Brest, Brittany, on June 26. The announcement was made at a press conference at the Brittany Regional Council in Rennes on Monday.

The Grande Palais, originally scheduled for Copenhagen, has been postponed until 2022.

The UCI announced last month new dates for the 2021 Tour de France from June 26 to July 18. The new dates and location avoid a conflict with the postponed Euro 2020 soccer championships in Copenhagen and the Tokyo Olympics. The French Grand Tour will end six days before the men's road race scheduled for July 24 in Tokyo.

ASO confirmed that all four opening stages, which will take place from June 26-29, will take place in Brittany and include stages that could affect the first overall standings and the yellow leader's jersey.

"It is said that when the wind blows, no one handles turbulence better than the Brittany men. Over the past few weeks they have risen to the challenge and the opportunity. And when the skies over Copenhagen darkened, they showed their loyalty to the Tour de France," ASO wrote in a press release.

"Due to a crowded sports calendar for the summer of 2021, the Tour's first visit to Denmark had to be postponed until 2022. Instead of heading north, the 108th edition will move west, with the first stage to be held in Brest, second only to Paris as a Grande Palais venue; Fausto Coppi in 1952, Eddy Merckx in 1974, and Carlos Sastre in 2008, have in the past started from the tip of Brittany. The region has paved the way for the Tour when it started.

"After the 32nd visit of the Grand Boucle in Brest, which first appeared in the race program in 1906, the route is set with the intention of exploring the Armor coastal region of Brittany and the Argote territories inland. The diversity of the landscape will make it possible to set up selective stages, which will place the responsibility of fulfilling this responsibility straight on the shoulders of the potential winners. Details of these four Brittany stages will be announced at the Tour presentation on October 29 at the Palais des Congrès in Paris.

The 2021 Tour de France was originally scheduled to run from July 2-25, with the Grande Parle to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from July 2-4. However, the final weekend of the Grand Tour coincided with the men's road race for the Tokyo Olympics, which was postponed this summer due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

In addition, Copenhagen will also host the European soccer championships, which were also postponed until next summer due to the COVID-19 outbreak. There were concerns about Copenhagen's ability to handle the clash of two international sporting events, especially if the Tour de France was moved up a week.

Copenhagen's Parken Stadium will host group stage matches on June 12, 17, and 21, with a second round match on June 28. Copenhagen eventually turned down ASO's request to move up the Grande Pearl one week.

The Breton newspaper Le Télégramme (opens in new tab) reported last month that ASO had offered the Brittany region the 2021 Grand Depart. The French region was expected to bid for the opening stage of the 2024 or 2025 Tour de France.

The region of Brittany hosted competitions in Brest in 1952, 1974, and 2008, and in Rennes in 1964; in a press release, ASO noted that since 1906, 170 stages of the Tour de France have started or finished in the Brittany region and that stages have been held in 33 cities in Brittany. Furthermore, four Brittanyans have won the Tour de France: Lucien Petit-Breton (1907-08), Jean Robic (1947), Luison Bovet (1953-54-55), and Bernard Hinault (1978-79-81-82-85).