French president François Hollande hailed the victory of German Andre Greipel Thursday on a poignant Tour de France stage that swept past numerous World War I battlefields. Hollande said the success of a German in France's greatest domestic sporting event on a day in which those who died in the Great War were remembered was a tribute to the friendship between two countries that previously fought such bitter battles.
"It was a quite exceptional stage due to the course it took past areas that were part of the war. It was a race of consequence in that it's a German who won," said Hollande of Thursday's 194km sixth stage from Arras to Reims that notably included the Chemin des Dames.
Reims was the city in which General Charles de Gaulle and German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer celebrated Franco-German friendship 51 years ago, noted Hollande. "I myself came here with Mrs (Angela) Merkel to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Elysee Treaty," added Hollande, referring to the pact of reconciliation between the two countries. Quite apart from remembering the significance of the region to French and European history, Hollande lauded the effect the Tour has on his country's image.
"The Tour de France is a World Cup every year and it lasts three weeks," he told France 2. "On top of that, when the Tour de France starts in England it allows us to receive compliments from the English press and we even received a letter from (British Prime Minister) David Cameron to thank and congratulate us," he joked.
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