In this Sept 20, 2020 photo, stage winner Team Deceuninck rider Ireland's Sam Bennett wearing the best sprinter's green jersey celebrates as he crosses the finish line during the 21st and last stage of the 107th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 122 km between Mantes-la-Jolie and Champs Elysees Paris. (THIBAULT CAMUS / AFP / POOL)

MADRID - Bilbao is set to be named as the starting point for the 2023 Tour de France, local media reported on Thursday.

Copenhagen will now host the opening stage in 2022, with the first three days of racing to be held in Denmark

Bilbao-based El Correo newspaper reported that the city will host the first two stages of cycling’s most prestigious race, including the Grand Depart, in two years’ time.

The report said Bilbao started negotiations with Tour organisers Amaury Sport Organisation in 2016 and has reached an agreement that will see the race return to the Spanish Basque country region for the first time since it started in nearby San Sebastian in 1992.

ALSO READ: Job not done yet, says Tour de France leader Roglic

The 2021 Tour de France was due to start in Copenhagen, but the COVID-19 pandemic and the rescheduling of soccer’s Euro 2020, in which the Danish capital is a host city, meant the Grand Depart was moved to Brest in North West France.

Copenhagen will now host the opening stage in 2022, with the first three days of racing to be held in Denmark.