The Tour de France might see its Grand Depart in Barcelona, Spain in 2014. Spanish newspaper El Periodico reported that, “Barcelona City Council and ASO (Tour de France Organizers) have had very advanced negotiations to bring the start of the Tour to the Catalan capital in 2014.”
The 2009 edition of the race saw stage six start in Girona and finish in Barcelona. The primarily flat stage ended with David Millar (Garmin-Slipstream), the sole survivor of the day’s break, getting swallowed up by the peloton in the last kilometer of the race, which was won by eventual green jersey victor Thor Hushovd.
The Tour de France normally starts abroad every two years. In 2010 the Grand Depart will be held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and in 2012 the race will begin in Liège, Belgium. The tentative plan is to remain in the city for both the opening prologue and for stage one of the race before heading to France.