Tour de France organiser ASO confirmed on Dutch radio that Tour de France 2015 will start in Utrecht, Netherlands.

It's the 6th time the Tour start in Netherlands, which will make the lowland country the record holder for foreign Tour de France Grand Departs. The 2010 Rotterdam start marked the previous time the race started from Netherlands.

Previous rumours pointed out that 2015 Tour may start in Drenthe, Netherlands, then further news indicated it will start in Turin, Italy. Several weeks ago, there were strong rumours saying Utrecht had secured the Grand Depart for 2015, however the council of the Dutch city denied the speculation then. Now it's officially confirmed.

"Utrecht have been trying to get the Grand Depart for twelve years," Jeroen Wielaert of the organizing committee told Dutch radio NOS. "Christian Prudhomme was impressed by our perseverance."

Prudhomme, the TDF director, agreed with that as well, and commented, "Utrecht is a town that lives with the bike. It's a student's town, a young town that understands the importance of this event. We are delighted with the Grand Depart under the Dom church tower."

Utrecht organizers will run a budget of 10 million Euro for the 2015 Tour start. 5 million will come from the city council of the Dutch city, and the other funds will be collected via business deals and sponsorship.

In Tour de France history, stages are often held in foreign soil, the first time being in 1906, passing through Alsace-Lorraine(then Germany). However Grand Depart outside France were only prevailing after WWII, with 1954 Tour being the first time, which started from Amsterdam, Netherlands.

This is also the first time the Tour start outside France for two consecutive years, and the first time the Tour start outside mainland France for three consecutive years, with 2013 start from Corsica, a French island and 2014 start from Yorkshire, England.