Copenhagen goes yellow for Tour de France

STORY: As race director Christian Prudhomme explained, the city will be the most northern ever to host the race start.

"It's very far from France, because it's really very far from France. And it's the most northern continent, ever. But I think Denmark deserves it," he said.

"Why? Because all the population is on bikes and because you love the Tour."

Celebrations in Denmark are everywhere, with both people and cities decorating buildings and putting up tributes in race jersey colors.

The mayor of Copenhagen, Sophie Haestorp Andersen, hopes that the city can inspire people to take up cycling to help with both health and the environment.

"My hope is that when the Tour de France, when they leave, they have seen a Copenhagen that is yellow, that is happy, that is inviting people in, not only for professional cyclists but also for everyday cyclists. And we hope to inspire the rest of the world and to go more in this direction, because it is a carbon neutral way of living and is also a healthy way of living," she said.