Key points:
 The headquarters of the Tour de France are officially open in Brussels, with a giant canevas being deployed to honour Eddy Merckx fifty years after he first won the race.
 Greg Van Avermaet, Maxime Monfort and Remco Evenepoel gave a press conference to Belgian children and Groupama-FDJ was first to talk to the media ahead of the race.

Movistar is the most experienced of the 22 teams
– The oldest Tour de France team is Movistar. The Spanish squad has competed in the 36 previous editions since their rider Angel Arroyo was Laurent Fignon’s runner up in 1983. Named Reynolds at the time, they were known as Banesto, Iles Baleares and Caisse d’Épargne until the phone company took over in 2011. Jumbo-Visma is almost as experienced since they inherited from Jan Raas’ team Kwantum-Hallen that became Superconfex, Buckler, WordPerfect, Novell, Rabobank, Belkin and LottoNL. They’ve taken part in 35 Tour de France since 1984. The first team sponsored by the Belgian national lottery popped up in 1985 but missed out on two occasions and counts 32 participations. Among the French outfits, AG2R-La Mondiale has already done 25 Tour de France while Cofidis and Groupama-FDJ record 22 straight starts since their inception in 1997. The two youngest teams are Bahrain-Merida and Wanty-Groupe Gobert who only have two Grand Boucle under their belt, in 2017 and 2018.
– Team Ineos tops the tally of the Maillot Jaune as they’ve led the Tour de France on 88 occasions, since 2012 as Team Sky. Movistar follows with 79. Their last time was with Alejandro Valverde in 2008. Arkéa-Samsic, Bahrain-Merida, Katusha-Alpecin and Wanty-Groupe Gobert are yet to discover the magic of the yellow jersey.
– Jumbo-Visma records the biggest number of stage victories (53) ahead of Deceuninck-Quick Step (37), Lotto-Soudal (33) and Movistar (32). Arkéa-Samsic, Bahrain-Merida and Wanty-Groupe Gobert have never won a stage up to date.
– Four teams have already won the Tour de France: Movistar (7), Ineos (6), Astana (2) and CCC (1).

Eddy Merckx, the picture keeps getting bigger
Eddy Merckx is the centre of the attention in the lead up to the start of the 106th Tour de France fifty years after the first of his five overall victories. In the opening ceremony of the race headquarters, Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme and Brussels’ burgomaster Philippe Close unveiled a 3272 square metre canevas showcasing the all-time greatest cycling champion in the yellow jersey. His radiant face is exposed on the grass between the Atomium and the exhibition centre. It’s the biggest tarp ever realized and opened out in Belgium.

Eating and drinking, the hot topic of the children’s press conference
For the fifth year running, a selected group of top riders answered the questions at the press conference of the children invited by the Belgian cycling federation. Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team) and Maxime Monfort (Lotto-Soudal) were accompanied by Remco Evenepoel although the 19 year old from Deceuninck-Quick Step will not take part in the 2019 Tour de France. But here as well, he was asked whether or not he’ll “ride the Tour de France like Eddy Merckx”. “It’s a very difficult question”, the double junior world champion replied who noted that cycling has changed a lot since The Cannibal’s time. He was more eager to give advice to these future cyclists about food and drink. “Finish eating three hours before the race starts and drink one or two bottles per hour of racing”, he said. “Two if it’s hot”, Monfort added. The Walloon also spoke about the coming race. “Even if he’s young, Egan Bernal is the favourite, I’ve seen him racing at the Tour de Suisse”, he warned. Questioned about his ultimate dream, Van Avermaet took a shortcut as he stated: “I already made my dreams come true. My dream was to become a pro bike rider and my second dream was to be an Olympic champion.”

Thibaut Pinot: “The level of the peloton is very high this year”
First team to show up at the race headquarters for a press conference, Groupama-FDJ informed with great satisfaction that their eight starting riders were those selected last December and their build-up to the Tour has gone according to the plan. “Listening to some comments last week”, their leader Thibaut Pinot said, “it sounds like it’ll be easy to ride the Tour this year [in the absence of Chris Froome and Tom Dumoulin] but some strong riders who weren’t there last year are at the start this year. Reality is: it’s one the Grand Tours of the highest level I’ve ever participated in. As for myself, it’s been a long time since I last arrived at the Tour with such a good condition… since 2014 actually [third overall and best young rider].”
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Crédit photo Photographe Pauline Balle
Key points:
 To celebrate 100 years of the Yellow Jersey, at the end of each stage the leader of the general classification will receive a unique specimen.
 This morning at the brand’s factory located 2 hours east of Paris, Le coq sportif and the organisers of the Tour de France, in the presence of LCL, presented the twenty Yellow Jerseys that the riders will be battling for in July. The Atomium in Brussels, Reims Cathedral, the Lion of Belfort, the Place du Capitole in Toulouse, but also Eugène Christophe and the five-time winners of the Tour de France will be given pride of place on the Yellow Jersey.
The Yellow Jersey, which first appeared in the Tour de France pack on 19 July 1919 on the shoulders of Eugène Christophe, who led the general classification until the day before the finish, has acquired the status of a special trophy in the world of sport. The riders who win the privilege to wear it one hundred years later will also enjoy the honour of putting on unique specimens customised with the route of each stage on which they wear it. As a result, it is most likely to be a sprinter who will proudly puff his chest out on the evening of 6 July in a Yellow Jersey featuring the Atomium, the symbol of the City of Brussels. The provisional GC will probably change later in the race before the pack heads towards the Alps, with a Yellow Jersey dedicated to the Pont du Gard aqueduct. Naturally, the most sought-after jersey will be awarded in Val Thorens on the evening of the penultimate stage, after which the almost certain winner of the 106th edition will make his entrance onto the Champs-Elysées wearing a jersey on which the Arc de Triomphe will aptly symbolise victory.
Among the rare jerseys made by Le Coq Sportif, one sole specimen will be personalised every evening with the rider’s name and the title of the stage on which he will wear it. The replica version available from retailers will be based on three visuals: the Atomium, a mountain landscape and the Arc de Triomphe.
For the 2019 edition, the Yellow Jerseys worn each day by the race leader are made in France at the Le Coq Sportif factory in Romilly-sur-Seine. The brand’s know-how and its specialists will be present on each stage alongside the leader of the Tour de France.
A.S.O./P.Ballet Marc-Henri Beausire, C.E.O le coq sportif : « Our partnership with the Tour de France makes sense when you live these moments with these great champions and millions of people on the roadsides of France. This year it is with even more interest that our Romilly sur Seine employees will follow this edition as the jerseys worn by the leaders are coming from of our factory from the Aube Department. »
A.S.O./P.Ballet Christian Prudhomme, Director of Tour de France : « The jerseys are unique this year because each jersey is different and features either the race routes or the champions that have contributed to the history of the Tour de France. We will leave from Brussels where the first Yellow Jersey will feature the Atomium, the last will feature the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysées, while others will feature a portrait of Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil and Miguel Indurain for example. It will be something really special for the 100th anniversary of the Yellow Jersey. In a few years’ time, we will still be able to say: ‘This Yellow Jersey was on this stage because it features Eugene Christophe, the first rider to wear the Yellow Jersey in the history of the Tour de France – 19 July 1919 – 19 July 2019, in Pau.’ Eugene Christophe will be featured on the Yellow Jersey. »

The 20 Yellow Jerseys of the Tour de France 2019
Stage 2 : Bruxelles Palais Royal – Bruxelles Atomium :
The Atomium has already enjoyed pride of place for a Grand Départ before, in Brussels in 1958, the same year as the World Fair.
Stage 3 :Binche – Epernay :
Eddy Merckx won the first of his five triumphs on Le Tour 50 years ago.
Stage 4 : Reims – Nancy :
Reims Cathedral has witnessed the coronation of French Kings… as well as many sprinters on the Tour de France.
Stage 5 : Saint-Dié-des-Vosges – Colmar :
Jacques Anquetil, the first rider to win Le Tour five times, revolutionised the sport of cycling.
Stage 6 :Mulhouse – La Planche des Belles Filles :
On the flat, in towns or the mountains, the pack on the Tour de France is always ready to meet the spectators.
Stage 7 : Belfort – Chalon-sur-Saône :
The Lion of Belfort, a sculpture by Auguste Bartholdi, to whom we owe the Statue of Liberty in New-York. This is where Eddy Merckx first put on the Yellow Jersey and kept it all the way to Paris in 1969.
Stage 8 : Mâcon – Saint-Etienne :
Bernard Hinault, a five-time Tour de France winner, is also the last Frenchman to win the race. A blood-stained Bernard Hinault finishes in Saint-Étienne.
Stage 9 :Saint-Etienne – Brioude :
The Geoffroy-Guichard stadium in Saint-Étienne, nicknamed the cauldron, is also part of France’s sporting heritage.
Stage 10 :Saint-Flour – Albi :
The Sainte-Cécile Cathedral in Albi is the largest brick-made building in the world.
Stage 11 : Albi – Toulouse :
Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain are the members of the exclusive club of five-time winners on the Tour de France.
Stage 12 : Toulouse – Bagnères-de-Bigorre :
The Place du Capitole in Toulouse, one of France’s largest squares.
Stage 13 : Pau – Pau :
Eugène Christophe was the first rider to wear the Yellow Jersey in 1919… He lost it the day before the race finished.
Stage 14 : Tarbes – Tourmalet Barèges :
Since the first climb of the Col du Tourmalet in 1910, the pack has climbed the Pyrenean Giant 82 times.
Stage 15 : Limoux – Foix Prat d’Albis :
Miguel Indurain is the sole rider to have won the Tour de France five times consecutively.
Stage 16 : Nîmes – Nîmes :
The arenas in Nîmes come alive when the Feria festival takes place, but they have also played host to the Davis Cup as well as the riders on La Vuelta.
Stage 17 : Pont du Gard – Gap :
The Pont du Gard aqueduct, a monumental structure dating from Roman times, crosses the Gardon River.
Stage18 : Embrun – Valloire :
The Col du Galibier played host to the highest finish in the history of the Tour de France in 2011, at an altitude of 2,645 metres.
Stage19 : Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne – Tignes :
The Col de l’Iseran, perched at an altitude of 2,770 metres, will be the summit of the Tour de France in 2019.
Stage 20 : Albertville – Val Thorens :
The day before the finish of the Tour de France, the last mountain stage may see a dramatic outcome in the battle for the podium places.
Stage 21 : Rambouillet – Paris Champs-Elysées :
The Arc de Triomphe dominates the Champs-Élysées, which has hosted the grand finale of the Tour de France since 1975.

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Key points:
 The Grand Départ of Le Tour will take place in a little more than three months’ time, on 6th July, and Brussels is already focused on a doubly historic Tour de France for the Belgians. The centenary of the Yellow Jersey also corresponds with the fiftieth anniversary of when its most prestigious wearer, Eddy Merckx, made his first appearance on the race. “The Cannibal” will once again be honoured in the Belgian capital.
 Throughout France, the stage hosting towns and cities on 2019 Tour de France will be decked out in Yellow, just like the Thalys high-speed train that made its first journey between Paris and Brussels in its luminous new livery.
 The D-100 festivities will continue tomorrow with the third edition of Dictée du Tour, which brought together 10,000 pupils last year to test their mettle against each other on texts about the Tour de France.

CITIES OF LIGHT EVERYWHERE!
As we get closer the start of the 2019 edition of the Tour de France, the stage host towns and cities preparing to welcome the riders are celebrating by illuminating their monuments or giving pride of place to the Yellow Jersey in their own special way. Among the illuminations that started yesterday and which will regularly continue to light up these towns and cities until the arrival of Le Tour, the spirit of the Yellow Jersey has especially illuminated the rocks in Saint-Flour, the Garabit viaduct, the town hall in Colmar, the Saint-Julien basilica in Brioude, the town hall in Mâcon, the Opera house and Subé fountain in Reims, the ramparts in Binche, the castle in Pau, the obelisk in Châlon.
A balloon release will take place at the foot of the ski slopes in Val Thorens.
View the full slide show

A THALYS TRAIN IN LE TOUR’S COLOURS
This morning, a Thalys train with a brand-new style made a noticeable entrance into the Bruxelles-Midi station to be welcomed by Bertrand Gosselin, Thalys CEO, Eddy Merckx and Christian Prudhomme. Although the riders will have to wait to start their journey on 6th July, this train, with one of the carriages entirely redecorated in the colours of the Tour de France and its Grand Départ, will be making many voyages on the high-speed network until 28th July, when the pack arrives at the Champs-Elysées in Paris. In total, it will cover tens of thousands of kilometres, with thousands of passengers on board!

EDDY MERCKX SQUARE IN WOLUWE-SAINT-PIERRE
The centenary celebrations for the creation of the Yellow Jersey also correspond with the fiftieth anniversary of Eddy Merckx’s first victory. These two milestones will come together in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, one of the boroughs of Brussels, where the young boy who grew up to taste triumph spent his youth. The new Eddy Merckx square has been officially inaugurated in the neighbourhood where his family ran a grocer’s shop, pending the installation of a copy of Belgian artist Stefaan de Croock’s work entitled “Tribute to Eddy Merckx”.
BICYCLE WEEKEND IN BRUSSELS
Brussels’ annual 24-hour cycling meeting for amateur cyclists held in the Bois de la Cambre woods will be devoted to the Tour de France this year. Approximately 6,000 participants are expected for this crazy race, where Eddy Merckx himself will be giving starter’s orders Saturday 30th March at 11.30. All the week-end and the following day, the Place De Brouckère will be taken over for and by Tour de France enthusiasts, with demonstrations and introductions to extreme cycling, exhibitions and bicycle rides through the city.
A € 2.5 COIN FOR THE GRAND DÉPART
As part of the festivities surrounding the Grand Départ, a special €2.5 euro coin will be issued by the Royal Mint of Belgium on the theme of the Tour de France. This sporty-looking collector’s item, which comes complete with a “coin-card”, will be legal tender in Belgium and can be bought from the web site www.herdenkingsmunten.be.
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Tour de France im Zeichen des
100-jährigen Jubiläums des Gelben Trikots

• Die 106. Ausgabe der Tour de France startet am 6. Juli 2019 in Brüssel
• Ein anspruchsvolles Profil mit fünf Bergankünften, wovon drei auf über 2.000 Metern (Col du Tourmalet, Tignes, Val Thorens) enden – eine Premiere bei der Tour de France
• 2019 markiert das 100-jährige Jubiläum des Gelben Trikots
• Die 6. Austragung von La Couse by Le Tour de France findet auf einem Puncheur-freundlichen Kurs in Pau statt

Die Tour de France fand 1919 nach vier Jahren Weltkrieg zurück zum Radsport, angeführt vom ersten verliehenen Gelben Trikot, das Eugène Christophe trug. Einhundert Jahre nach dieser Renaissance feiert die Tour de France auch das Jubiläum ihrer ersten Begegnung mit dem größten Radsportler aller Zeiten. Vor 50 Jahren hat sich Eddy Merckx zum ersten Mal in die Liste der Tour de France-Gewinner eingetragen. In seinem Heimatland wird das Peloton am 6. Juli zur 106. Ausgabe der Tour de France starten. Von Brüssel aus startet die Strecke über 3.460 Kilometer.

Nach den ersten Etappen in Belgien geht der Kampf zwischen den Sprintern in den französischen Regionen Champagne und Lothringen weiter, bevor die Kletterer gefragt sind. Die sechste Etappe endet im Anstieg zu La Planche des Belles Filles. Von den Vogesen führt die Strecke über welliges Terrain in das Zentralmassiv bevor es zu Vorentscheidungen in den Pyrenäen kommt. Den Auftakt macht ein Einzelzeitfahren über 27 Kilometer in Pau – am 19. Juli, dem Tag des 100. Geburtstages des Gelben Trikots. Am Tag darauf beginnt für die Fahrer ein beispielloses Kletterprogramm. Innerhalb von einer Woche sind fünf Bergetappen zu absolvieren, von denen drei auf mehr als 2.000 Metern enden. Der Pass des Col du Tourmalet (2.115 Meter) markiert den Beginn des Gipfelfestivals. Am Foix Prat d’Albis geht die zweite Woche zu Ende. Nach dem Ruhetag macht sich das Peloton auf den Weg in die Alpen, wo an den letzten beiden Tagen vor dem Finale in Paris die Entscheidung um den Gesamtsieg der Tour de France 2019 mit den Ankünften in Tignes (2.113 Meter) und in Val Thorens (2.365 Meter) fallen wird.

In der 100-jährigen Geschichte des Gelben Trikots hatten 266 Fahrer die Gelegenheit, das Führungstrikot der Tour de France zu tragen. Bei der 106. Austragung kämpfen die Fahrer auf 7 Flachetappen, 5 hügeligen Etappen, 7 Bergetappen, in einem Mannschafts- und einem Einzelzeitfahren um das Gelbe Trikot.

La Course by Le Tour de France
Fünf Jahre nach der Premiere von La Course by Le Tour de France, die 2014 in Paris die weltbesten Radrennfahrerinnen zusammenbrachte, wird das Rennen im kommenden Jahr auf der Zeitfahrstrecke in Pau ausgetragen. Im Gegensatz zu ihren männlichen Kollegen werden die Damen jedoch fünfmal den Kurs absolvieren und insgesamt 120 km zurücklegen. Die Côte d’Esquillot wird bei diesem Rennen den Unterschied machen, denn der kurze Anstieg bietet ein ideales Sprungbrett für die explosivsten Fahrerinnen. Nachdem in der Vergangenheit die Sprinterinnen auf den Champs-Élysées und die Kletterspezialistinnen auf dem Col de l’Izoard und in Grand-Bornand im Mittelpunkt standen, kommen dieses Mal die Puncheure zum Zuge.
L’Étape du Tour: ein Rekord für die 29. Ausgabe
Das prestigeträchtige Jedermann-Event findet am 21. Juli 2019 auf dem Kurs der 20. Etappe zwischen Albertville und Val Thorens statt. Die erwarteten 15.000 Amateurfahrer müssen mehr als 4.500 Höhenmeter bewältigen, bevor sie das höchste Skigebiet Europas erreichen. Die Ankunft in Val Thorens ist die höchste Ziellinie in der Geschichte von L’Étape du Tour. Die Anmeldung ist ab Montag, den 29. Oktober, ab 12 Uhr mittags geöffnet.
Deutsches Pressebüro A.S.O.
Sandra Schmitz