Tour de France comes to town

9:52am Thursday 2nd November 2006

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LONDON and Kent are to receive a £115m tourism boost when the Tour de France starts in the UK for the first time.

An estimated two million visitors are expected during the three days the world-famous race will spend in the UK.

Its opening ceremony will be held on July 6 at Trafalgar Square. The following day there will be a five-mile individual race around the streets of central London. Stage one of the race will start on July 8 in central London.

The route will take in some of the capital's most historic and contemporary sites including Big Ben, the London Eye, St Paul's Cathedral, and the Gherkin.

The race will then travel through Deptford and Greenwich before travelling to Kent.

In Kent, the tour will pass through Erith, Dartford, Gravesend, Medway, Tunbridge Wells and Ashford, before the stage finish at Canterbury Cathedral.

More details of the route will be announced in January or February.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone said: "I am proud that London will play a part in the long history of the Tour de France.

"The Tour de France is so much more than just a cycle race, creating a carnival atmosphere wherever it visits.

"We want 2007 to be the greatest Grand Dpart the Tour has ever seen giving the riders a fantastic send off as they start a gruelling three weeks' racing."

Around 200 of the world's best cyclists will battle for the coveted yellow jersey in London and Kent and then go on to cover 3,500 km over the course of three weeks.

Every year between 12 and 15 million spectators watch the race from the roadside, which makes it the largest annual sports event in the world.

For more information about the Tour de France, and a full route map, visit, tourdefrancelondon.com