The Dutch city of Utrecht is bidding to host the Grand Depart of the 2018 or 2019 Vuelta a Espana.
The Dutch city hosted the Grand Depart for the 2015 Tour De France race and according to Spanish newspaper Marca, that successful event and the hosting of the Giro D'Italia in Appeldorn in May 2016, has prompted the City to throw its hat in the ring.
"We would prefer 2019 because it is a year without the Olympic Games, the football World Cup or European Cup, which will allow us to have big visibility, to be a great event of the summer,” head of Business Peloton Utrecht, Cor Jansen said according to Marca.
"The Vuelta will have the final word on it, and 2019 is also a difficult year because the organisation has other offers. 2020 is a more feasible year. However, it is a bad option because the Olympic Games are in Tokyo.
"After the experiences of the Giro and the Tour, the next step is the Vuelta. It’s the logical thing to happen. We would like to be the first city in the world to have had the finish of three Grand Tour stages," said Jansen.
"We would finish this Grand Slam, and with this we would try to bring the Tour de France to our streets for 2025, it’s a possibility that we are weighing up.”