Utrecht Tour route - Le Grand Départ - 1st stage Le Tour De France 2015

Cycling through the Utrecht city center and being cheered on by a few hundred thousand people: what a powerful feeling that must give. On 4 and 5 July 2015, Utrecht will be the cycling capital of the world. The second stage of the Tour de France can already be tried out.

This cycling tour follows the start of the second stage of the Tour de France, with the start at the Croeselaan. Cycling through the center of Utrecht is quite tight for a platoon of about 180 men, but don't worry: the agreement is that the official starting shot will only be fired at't Goylaan. Until then, cycling will be neutralized. The cyclists therefore stay together and will not blast past at 45 kilometers per hour or faster. It even gives them the opportunity to look around.
Via the Vondellaan and the Bleekstraat, the tour takes you past all the beautiful places that the Utrecht city center has to offer: from the Oudkerkhof and the Ganzenmarkt to the Janskerkhof and the Maliebaan. People even cycle under the Dom Tower. It seems that Tour boss Prudhomme definitely chose Utrecht when he heard the Domcarillon de Marseillaise play...

The bike ride goes west to Leidsche Rijn, the largest new construction site in the country. It is not yet known where the second stage will end. However, the Tour de France is not called the Tour de France for nothing, so there is a very good chance that the pro peloton will head south after Leidsche Rijn. 

This cycle tour continues in a northwesterly direction, to Breukelen. After the historic city center and the new construction of Leidsche Rijn, it's time for lambs, apple blossoms, pollard willows and cheerful cows: the countryside.

The first village is Haarzuilens, best known for Castle De Haar. After Haarzuilens, hamlets and Breukelen follow, and then it continues along the meandering Vecht, in the direction of Maarssen. There is plenty to see along the way: from passing boats to country estates with the characteristic tea houses. Gradually, the 112 meter high Dom, icon of the city, comes into view again.