Denmark has made a bid to host the Grand Depart of the Tour de France.

The Danish government and local authorities have joined forces with private stakeholders to make an official bid fo the first three stages of the 2018 edition of the race. The parties will invest 12,000,000 euros in the project and hope to host the prologue and the first two stages of the legendary cycling race.

This year the Tour de France started in the Dutch city of Utrecht and the event reportedly cost between 10,700,000 and 13,500,000 euros.

Today the final details of the bid were finalized at a meeting at the office of the Danish mister for business and growth who hopes to boost Danish tourism. 

The plans include an opening prologue in central Copenhagen, a first road stage that links the city of Roskilde with Odense via the Storebælt bridge and a second stage that starts in the hilly terrain around Vejle and ends in Sønderborg close to the Danish-German border.

The Danish bid is regarded as serious. Later his month Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme will meet Danish prime minister Lars Løkke Ramussen.

Denmark hosted the 2011 World Championships in Copenhagen and one year later Herning and Horsens played host to the first three stages of the Giro d'Italia.

If the bid fails, Denmark hope to welcome the race in 2019 or 2020. The 2017 edition is rumoured to start in Germany while the 2016 edition will start from Mont Saint-Michel in France.