2012 Tour de France to get under way in Belgian city of Liège

It has been confirmed that Liège will host the Grand Départ of the 2012 Tour de France, just eight years after Fabian Cancellara rode his way into the maillot jaune in the Belgian city in the Prologue of the 2004 race.

The news was confirmed in a brief statement issued yesterday by Tour de France organisers ASO and the Province of Liège, and while no further details were available, it is understood that the first three days of the race will unfold in Belgium.

The Belgian city has regularly featured on the Tour de France itinerary, and hosted its first stage finish, with the Italian great Gino Bartali winning there in 1948, a year in which he won the overall title for the second a final time.