Why do cycling's Grand Tours often start abroad? Grand Départs explained

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 07: Crowds cheer as cyclists competing in the Tour de France, including stage winner Marcel Kittel (3rd R), pass through Parliament Square at the end of the race's third stage on July 7, 2014 in London, England. The first three stages of the Tour de France have taken place in England. After traveling through Yorkshire on the first two days, today's stage runs from Cambridge to London, finishing on The Mall. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images).

The Grand Tours are without doubt pro cycling's most popular and well-known races. Ask someone in the street to tell you something about cycling, and there's a high chance that 'the Tour de France' will be their immediate response. It's a logical response when the French Grand Tour is the largest annual sporting event in the world.

Yet more and more often the Tour de France does start in France, the Giro d'Italia kicks-off outside of Italy and the Vuelta a España has started as far away as the Netherlands. This year the Vuelta will start in Italy, while the opening stage of the Corsa Rosa roll out from the coastal city of Durrës, in Albania.