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CyclistThe weird and wonderful places to have hosted a Grand Tour stageStage 6 of the 2024 Vuelta a Espaa began inside a Carrefour supermarket. Green jersey Wout van Aert and race leader Primo Rogli lined up by the checkouts with the smell of the butchers counter and vegetable aisle still in the air. Yes, the French supermarket chain sponsors the race, however, the choice of a southern Spanish supermarket feels very bizarre.Thats not the only wacky stage location at the 2024 Vuelta. The riders are still to visit a business park on Stage 10 and a telecommunications office on the final days time-trial. Grand Tours dont shy away from making rogue visits to niche local landmarks.The 2015 Vuelta started with a neutralised team time-trial on a beach promenade, Mark Cavendish won a 2016 Tour de France stage at a bird sanctuary, and the Giro dItalia visited the home of San Pellegrino sparkling water in 2011. All three Grand Tours have beaten vineyard tours, motorsports tracks and royal castles to death. UNESCO World Heritage sites have had the pleasure of hosting these races from Mont Saint Michel to St Peters Square. Although it was strange to see the Giro start in Denmark, and equally in the holy city of Jerusalem, this list will honour the wackiest and strangest places to have held a Grand Tour stage.Disneyland (Tour de France)Allsport UK/AllsportThe 1994 Tour de France concluded with a stage from Disneyland Paris to the Champs lyses. The race also returned for two stages in 1997 to mark the fifth anniversary of the park.The theme park was described as cultural Chernobyl by Parisian critic Ariane Mnouchkine. To counter the negative impact of the European franchise of Disneyland, the unapologetically French Tour came to town. Or at least, to the newly built Main Street USA in the park. It also gave the park some important TV time to advertise the latest Disney attraction. Given that we got shots of Miguel Indurin with Minnie Mouse, it was most likely worth it.Mickey Mouse came out for the flag drop and wished the riders all the best on their final journey to Paris. With the 50m-tall Sleeping Beauty Castle in sight, the Tour de France never felt less French. Why have a real chteauwhen you can have the fake one Walt Disney built?Dont worry, Mickey and Minnie returned to the Tour in the mid-2000s with their own floats in the publicity caravan. They have not been seen at the race since.EuroTunnel (Tour de France)Pascal Rondeau/ALLSPORTThe 1994 Tour de France was all about celebrating the big redevelopment efforts around Lille and northern France. The opening prologue started and indeed finished outside the Euralille shopping centre, now run by Australian conglomerate Westfield. Very un-French if you ask me.Stage 3 of the 1994 race took the peloton to another landmark of the modern age, the EuroTunnel. To honour the construction of the cross-Channel connection between France and the UK, the Tour de France headed to the transit station for a team time-trial.If youve ever been to the EuroTunnel, youll be aware of how bleak it is. A sad lagoon of concrete and electricity wires, the train terminal was hardly chosen for its natural beauty. However, the site was included to mark the opening of the tunnel earlier that year. Perhaps this was a symbolic gesture given that the following two stages ventured north to British shores.To this day, this is the only stage to have ever taken place at the EuroTunnel terminal. The race against the clock was won by Johan Museeuws GB-MG Maglificio-Bianchi team. In 2014, Team Sky did a promotional stunt in which Chris Froome rode from the UK to France through the tunnel. However, there has sadly been no suggestion of this being added to the Tours parcours. A great shame for railway enthusiasts the world over. Related Posts Inside the weird and wonderful world of pro cycling merchandise Cyclists 2024 Vuelta a Espaa predictions Who are the favourites for the 2024 Vuelta a Espaa? Vuelta a Espaa 2024: Route, start list, how to watch and all you need to know El Pozo ham factory (Vuelta a Espaa)KT/Tim De Waele/Corbis via Getty ImagesOne of the more recent races to be included on this list, the 2017 Vuelta a Espaaappeased its sponsors by finishing a stage outside a ham factory. Yes, El Pozo, the official charcuterie provider of the Spanish race, hosted the arrival of Stage 10.On the day, Matteo Trentin was a cut above and took the stage win ahead of Grand Tour stalwart Jos Joaqun Rojas. Sadly, no interviewer interrogated Trentin on the significance of winning in the shadow of the ham factory. Well never know what it smelt like, sounded like or even whether there were extra slices of jamn provided at the post-race press conference. That said, Trentin did describe the day as a steady grind. He really missed the chance to call it a meaty day.Venices canals (Giro dItalia)Venice has rarely held the Giro dItalia. Looking at a map, its easy to understand why. The city is spread across an archipelago with small canals and bridges cutting across the islands. As one of Italys most popular tourist attractions, it was only a matter of time until the Giro pulled off a stunt in the city.In 1978, the race headed for the floating city. On Stage 14 of the Giro, a 12km time-trial was organised throughout the city of Venice with a grand arrival at the Piazza San Marco under the iconic Campanile. The race organiser Vincenzo Torriani was very adamant about having Venice on the route. The short course around the city required a lot of temporary roads and ramps to be built. Four existing bridges required ramps to allow riders to cross the canals. In order to tackle the big watery obstacle of Venices biggest canal, a 200m-long floating road was propped on the Grand Canal. The bridge looked pretty sketchy particularly in the wet conditions that day. However, this pontoon allowed the race to cross the canal and make it to the final straight at the Piazza San Marco.Aircraft carrier (Vuelta a Espaa)Tim de Waele/Corbis via Getty ImagesThe 2014 Vuelta a Espaastarted right in the south of the country. On Stage 3, the race set out from Cadiz. Rather, they set out from the Juan Carlos I aircraft carrier.The ship, which cost an eyewatering 462 million, was used by the Vuelta to celebrate the Spanish Navy. Before the stage started, the riders played around on the 202-metre-long deck. Some got to sit inside fighter jets while others marvelled at the bonkers nature of this unique stage setting. With its high-tech capabilities, the riders popped up onto the top deck on a hydraulic platform to sign on and perform pre-race interviews and photos.We also finally got the chance to see Alejandro Valverde have his Top Gun moment in the cockpit of a fighter jet, while Alberto Contador was seen wearing a sailors hat before the race. Only the Vuelta could pull this off.The Titanic Museum (Giro dItalia)Kei Tsuji/Getty ImagesTo mark the start of the 2014 Giro dItalia and the first pro bike race in the north of Ireland the Italian race headed to Belfasts Titanic Quarter. As grand as it sounds, the stage began outside the multi-million dollar Titanic Museum built at the beginning of the 2010s. Lightly put, the museum is a Hollywood memorialisation of a massive shipping disaster.Perhaps my own distaste for the museum might be shining through, but the choice of starting the race by the Titanic Museum feels rather odd. You could argue that this sets a strange precedent for more Grand Tour stages to begin outside museums dedicated to disasters.Also, it felt strange that, for one day, cycling and the Titanic mixed in the same circles. Commentators were left to scramble for facts behind the unsinkable ship and the Hollywood-driven fame it became known for. 102 years after the Titanic sank, it was getting name-dropped left, right and centre courtesy of an Italian bike race.I havent even mentioned the elephant in the room. Why was the Giro dItalia even in Belfast? Italy is 1500km away. Catch yourself on.Ford car factory (Vuelta a Espaa)Tim De Waele/Getty ImagesNow, the Vuelta recently visited a ham factory. However, this is not the Vueltas first rodeo at an industrial finish. No, not at all.Stage 15 of the 2006 Vuelta a Espaaopted for a less rogue but less logical stage arrival at a Ford factory on the outskirts of Valencia. This is no mere factory, this is Fords biggest manufacturing complex outside of the United States. Im sure theres a joke to be made about motor doping here somewhere.The factory, which has a production capacity of 450,000 cars per year, hosted a fierce sprint finale won by Gerolsteiners Robert Frster. Shockingly, this was not the first time the Vuelta visited the factory. The race visited in 2004 and was passed by during a prologue in the 1983 edition of the Spanish Grand Tour. Theyre proud of that factory alright.Toulouse Airport runway (Tour de France)Tim De Waele/Getty ImagesWe have seen a few Tour stages finish on luxurious runways in the mountains. The well-trodden finishes to Peyregudes, Megve and Mende have all adapted runways into the final approach to the line. This is usually for convenience and parking rather than symbolic intent.However, at the 2003 Tour de France, the race decided to honour the pink city of Toulouses aviation heritage. Toulouse is the seat of Airbus, one of the worlds biggest plane manufacturers. The city also hosted a stage start from Frances national space centre, the Cit de lEspace.That said, on Stage 11 of the 2003 race, the Tour headed for Toulouse-Montaudran Airport, Toulouses former flagship airport. Air France used to fly from Montaudran to Buenos Aires, Casablanca and nearby Barcelona. These glamorous locations were replaced by the arrival of a Tour stage. Oddly enough, Arnold Schwarzenegger was among the spectators on the roadside that day.Juan Antonio Flecha took the win, the only of his long career. Flecha might have cursed the airport, however. It closed later in 2003 and has now been redeveloped into a new neighbourhood of the city that features an aviation museum, an animatronic exhibition and a very large Leclerc supermarket. Oh, how things change.A cathedral (Vuelta a Espaa)ANDER GILLENEA/AFP via Getty ImagesThe 2021 Vuelta kicked off in Burgos. In a race that finished in the pilgrimage city of Santiago de Compostella, it felt fitting that the race would start in a holy setting. This was taken all too literally with a time-trial ramp built inside Burgos Cathedral.It might be a stretch to say that the race started inside the cathedral as the course opened up from its doorway instead of inside of brushing past the pues and confession box like organisers suggested before the race. The riders, therefore, set out from the cathedral for a short time-trial around the city. The Vuelta really missed the chance to play the time-trial countdown tones on the cathedrals organs or bells.The victory ceremonies were also conducted on the stairs of the cathedral, just as the final stages podium would soon appear in Santiago. A full circle moment for the Spanish three-weeker. Warner Bros Park Madrid (Vuelta a Espaa)Tim De Waele/Getty ImagesAs you may have noticed, theme park stages pique my interest. The Tours visits to theme parks Disneyland as well as Futuroscope, Puy du Fou, and volcano-themed Vulcania are not in Grand Tour isolation. The Parque Warner Madrid in San Martn de la Vega hosted two stages of the Vuelta back in 2002.After a successful visit to the Universal Studios in Port Aventura the year before, the Vuelta took on the mantle of embracing the galore of the garish American-styled theme park once again for the 2002 race. Judging from Grand Tours, it was all the rage to visit theme parks in the 1990s and early 2000s.Nevertheless, the Vuelta rolled into Warner Bros Park for the penultimate stage finale of the 2002 edition. In a sprint, Angelo Furlan took the Looney Tunes-themed park. The rollercoasters must have been good because the race came back to the Warner Bros Park the day after for a time-trial roll-out. To add to the thrills, the final stage ended on a red carpet inside Real MadridsBernabeu stadium. From Donald Duck to Zinedine Zidane. Related Posts Inside the weird and wonderful world of pro cycling merchandise Cyclists 2024 Vuelta a Espaa predictions Who are the favourites for the 2024 Vuelta a Espaa? Vuelta a Espaa 2024: Route, start list, how to watch and all you need to know The post The weird and wonderful places to have hosted a Grand Tour stage appeared first on Cyclist.

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Stage 6 of the Vuelta a Espaa will be a day to remember for Ben O'Connor who took the stage win and the race lead. The Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale rider is the new red jersey with a large gap over Primoz Roglic on a day where a few important riders lost important time.O'Connor gained over 6:30 minu...

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OConnor achieves Grand Tour treble with Vuelta stage win and takes over the overall race lead from Primo Rogli

Ben O'Connor has had some pretty good days throughout his career but without a single doubt, today's victory at the Vuelta a Espaa will come down as one of his best-ever performances. The Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale rider took full advantage of his presence on the breakaway to take the stage win, a...

Stage 7 of the Vuelta a Espaa is another hilly day, but with quite a different profile to today's. Most of the stage is rather flat but there is a complicated climb before the finale in Crdoba, the same finale where in 2011 Peter Sagan won the first time in a Grand Tour.Stage 7 is another tricky...