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Tour de France to start in Barcelona in 2026

The Tour de France will start in Barcelona in 2026, the third time the race has started in Spain in over a century, organisers ASO announced on Tuesday.

Published: 18 June 2024 11:44 CEST
Tour de France to start in Barcelona in 2026
The 2026 Tour de France will kick off in Barcelona. Photo: Josep Lago/AFP

“Barcelona is a prestigious city and it is a city of sport,” Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme told AFP.

He said two complete stages would take place in Catalonia and the third stage would also begin there before crossing into France.

Cycling’s most famous race started in Saint Sebastian in 1992 and in Bilbao last year.

This year the Tour starts in the Italian city of Florence on June 29 before reverting to Lille next year.

This year’s Tour de France will end in Nice on July 21 in a change from its normal route because of the preparations for the Olympics in Paris.

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SPORT

Spain to send over 300 police to help secure Paris Olympics

Spain said Thursday it will send 313 police officers to Paris to bolster security for this summer's Olympic Games as France remains on high alert following attack threats.

Published: 27 June 2024 17:05 CEST
Spain to send over 300 police to help secure Paris Olympics

The officers, including bomb deactivation experts and sniffer dog teams, will be deployed in response to a request from France for foreign assistance with Games security, the Spanish interior ministry said in a statement.

France, which will host the games from July 26th to August 11th, has raised its security alert to the highest level after the deadly attack at a Moscow concert hall in March. The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the massacre.

The Spanish police will stay in Paris for the Paralympics which will be held from August 28th to September 8th, the statement added.

The French capital has been repeatedly hit by deadly attacks by Islamic extremists and security concerns are notably high for the opening ceremony of the Games, which will involve boats along the Seine River and huge crowds watching from the embankments.

Nearly 45,000 police officers and gendarmes will be mobilised in the Paris region for the event. During the games themselves, 18,000 French military troops will be deployed, including 3,000 responsible for aerial surveillance – in addition to about 35,000 police and gendarmes.

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