BC-CYC--Tour de France-Belgium,92
2019 Tour will honor 1st victory of 5-time champion Merckx
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The 2019 Tour de France will start in Brussels to honor the 50th anniversary of Eddy Merckx's first victory and will include the iconic Wall of Geraardsbergen climb during the opening weekend. The first stage of the Tour will have the Wall early but the stage is still set up for a sprint finish close to the royal palace.
BRUSSELS (AP) — The 2019 Tour de France will start in Brussels to honor the 50th anniversary of Eddy Merckx's first victory and will include the iconic Wall of Geraardsbergen climb during the opening weekend.
The first stage of the Tour will have the Wall, for decades the toughest climb in the Ronde of Flanders classic, early but the stage is still set up for a sprint finish close to the royal palace.
The second stage will be a team time trial through the Belgian capital.
Merckx won his first of five Tours in 1969.
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