Thailand confident over chances of hosting Tour de France in 2016

Thailand boldly announced they were in talks to host the Tour de France on Thursday, much to the surprise of organisers of the world’s greatest cycle race who said they were only discussing staging a low key one-day in the Southeast Asian nation.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand said they had been buoyed by fruitful talks with Jean-Etienne Amaury, Chairman of the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) who organise the Tour de France, last month in Paris and were working on how much of the great race they would stage.



“We are still talking with Tour de France organisers but we are looking at next fiscal year. So 2016, not 2015,” TAT governor Thawatchai Arunyik said. “We’re not sure yet how many stages we will hold whether it is one or two stages or the whole competition. This is something that still needs to be discussed.

“Thailand is the perfect location for this highly prestigious competition, not to mention that cycling as a sport is enjoying enormous popularity here at the moment.“ ASO, however, believe something was lost in translation. “There are talks indeed but not to bring the Tour to Thailand,” a spokesman said upon hearing about the claims from the TAT.