Utrecht on the move with 100 days to go

There is always a buzz of cycling in the air in Utrecht, but today it got even more intense. The 14 km time trial that will kick off the 102nd Tour de France in the great Dutch university city is just over three months —100 days— away. As the biggest sports event ever held in Utrecht gets closer and closer, mayor Jan van Zanen invited Christian Prudhomme to again visit the sites that will host the race this summer. Two other guests, Bernard Hinault and Bernard Thévenet, were reunited with their old foe Joop Zoetemelk, as well as the first Dutch winner of the Tour, Jan Janssen (1968). The Tour scouts rode along the canals that give Utrecht its special flavour at a much more relaxed pace than the riders. The guests, naturally aware of the huge importance of soft mobility in cities, were amazed at the sprawling development on the premises of the Utrecht train station where the world's biggest bicycle shelter is being built. Still in awe at the scale of the project, which will have room for over 12,000 bicycles, the Tour de France boss was delighted with the shared values: "This is the country of cycling and, even more so, the city of cycling. As well as races that keep us on the edges of our seats, we also have a passion for promoting cycling for everyone. Of course, this is what attracted us to this place, and I hope our visit in July will inspire lots of cities to follow this example".