Paris, Dec 23 (IANS): The German city of Dusseldorf will host the Grand Depart of the Tour de France in 2017, the organizers have announced.
"Grand Depart 2017: Dusseldorf #TDF2017," Le Tour wrote on its Twitter account to confirm the news on Tuesday, reports Xinhua.
The city council voted 40-39 in favor of applying last month after London withdrew due to financial reasons.
It will be the fourth time in the Tour de France's century-old history that the cycling race will start in Germany after Cologne in 1965, Frankfurt in 1980 and Berlin in 1987.
And following the 2014 edition in Leeds, England and 2015 in Utrecht, Netherlands, it will be the 22nd time in total that the Grand Depart has taken place outside France.
Organizers Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) said that more details will be available at a press conference on January 14.
Next year, the Tour will start from Mont St Michel in Normandy.