On Tuesday in Paris, the official announcement of the 2017 Tour de France confirmed that the race will start in Dusseldorf in Germany before moving to Liège in Belgium, then through Luxembourg to the Vosges; this will be the 8th time in the history of the Tour de France that the world's most iconic cycle race will have passed through Luxembourg, since 1947 when it inncluded the Belair Velodrome.

Stage three will be 202km from Verviers (Belgium) to Longwy (France) on 3 July, with most of that day's cycling through the north and south-west of the Grand Duchy, from Wemperhardt to Esch-sur-Alzette, via Troisvierges, Wiltz, the Haute-Sûre lake, Eschdorf, Grosbous and Wincrange; stage four on 4 July will start in Mondorf (home of Frank and Andy Schleck), with around 12 km along the Route du Vin to Schengen, before it crosses the border into France, to vittel in the Vosges.

The Tour de France coming through the Grand Duchy next year will feature as a highlight of the commemorations of the centenary of the Federation of Luxembourg cycling (FSCL).

"This is a tour that will honour Luxembourg", stated Luxembourg's Sports Minister, Romain Schneider, in Paris at the end of the presentation, before adding "while the Luxembourg cycling family will not only celebrate the centenary of the FSCL in 2017, but also the 130th anniversary of the birth of François Faber, the first Luxembourg cyclist to win the Grand Boucle, and the 90th anniversary of the first of two victories in the Tour by Nicolas Frantz."