There will be a novelty to the traditional pre-Tour de France teams presentation this year: In Strasbourg, the annual ceremony will not take place on a stage like in recent years, but on boats! As the Eastern French Grand Départ town features numerous canals in its city centre, Tour de France organiser ASO has decided to make the riders float along a prescheduled route so that all Strasbourgers will be able to see them.
This particular presentation will be held in the evening of Thursday, June 29, instead of the traditional pre-Tour Friday because of the Soccer World Cup. The boats will start at the foot of the European parliament and make a stop at the Château de Rohan, where the riders will be presented to VIP guests. The journey will then go on to the quarter of 'la Petite France'. On the following Saturday, July 1, Strasbourg will see the riders off to the 93rd edition of the Tour de France with an - unchanged - prologue.
