体坛英语新闻：Bilbao possible host for future Tour de France 'Grand Depart'

MADRID, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- The city of Bilbao in the Basque Region in the north of Spain is in line to host the 'Grand Depart' of a future edition of the Tour de France cycling race, according to race director Christian Prudhomme.

Speaking at the presentation of the route for the 2020 Tour, Prudhomme was asked about the possibility of Bilbao hosting the start of a future edition and explained he was very open to the idea.

"We have had a lot of contact with Bilbao and with the Basque Country," he told reporters, adding "we are going to have a meeting very soon and it would be a very interesting candidacy if it was confirmed."

Bilbao successfully hosted the end of stage 12 and the start of stage 13 of this year's Vuelta de Espana (Tour of Spain), with thousands of people packing the stage on both days.

Stage 13 even began with the riders setting off from inside Athletic Club Bilbao's San Mames football stadium, and Prudhomme highlighted the cycling tradition in the region.

"I love seeing how many fans there are at the side of the road when we go through the Basque regions. It is a place that really adores cycling," he said, adding that "whatever the case, it's something that interests us a lot."

There is a precedent for the race starting in the region with the 1992 Tour starting in San Sebastian, while the 1996 Tour ended a stage in Pamplona, the home of five-times Tour winner Miguel Indurain.

2023 looks to be the most likely date for the Tour to start in Bilbao given that the 2020 race will begin in Nice (south of France), while the 2021 race is scheduled to begin in the Danish capital of Copenhagen.

Tradition dictates that the Tour de France alternates its first stage in France one year and in another country the next, meaning the 2022 race will again start in France, leaving Bilbao as an option for 2023.