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Mayor of London, Ken Livingston, in Paris yesterday for the launch of the 2007 Tour de France, vowed that the biggest annual sporting event will get its greatest ever send off when it starts in the British Capital for the first time on July 7.<
The route’s two racing days within Britain was announced earlier this year, and yesterday the rest of the three-week marathon was completed making a total of 2,200 miles to be ridden before the Paris finish on the Champs-Elysees on July 29.
London is thought to have paid nearly six million dollars to win the tender for the race’s Grand Depart, the first time in it’s colourful 105 year’s history it will have started anywhere in the United Kingdom. Mayor Livingston was at pains to prove the bid worthwhile.
The Mayor said:” This event will showcase the Capital to the World, bring huge amounts of visitors to London and encourage more Londoner’s to take to two wheels. We want this to be the greatest Grand Depart the Tour has ever seen”.
When the Tour, which had then started in France, visited the UK in 1994, more than three million spectators standing three deep on the roadside, watched the stages that ended in Brighton and Portsmouth. London expects near this number again and with it a benefit to the British economy of over $200 million.
Concern that the race’s security might be threatened by terrorist action as Londoner’s will also remember the atrocities of the bombings of exactly two years ago, brought a swift reply from Christian Prudhomme, the Race’s Director:” Every precaution will be taken as for any big event and London will do everything to make it run smoothly,” he said.
The Tour de France has a crew of 5000 personnel including 1000 media that follow the event on a daily basis. The race has already said that it will be bringing its complete entourage, unlike in 1994, and this will also mean 2000 accredited vehicles.
It is the biggest sporting event London has ever promoted on its streets and on the opening Saturday, the five miles time trial will give the public a chance to see every rider race in sterile conditions as they leave the start house one by one over most of the day.
Bradley Wiggins, a triple Athens Olympic medallist, was born in London and cannot believe that, after completing the Tour for the first time this July, he will be starting the favourite for victory on the opening day.
“I grew up here and this is where I used to cycle as a boy. I was inspired to take up cycling when the Tour came here in 1994 and I am sure next year’s race will inspire many more people to take to two wheels.
I rode the race for the first time this year and it was a tough three weeks, but I can’t wait to ride the Prologue in the city where I grew up.” Said Wiggins, who races for Cofidis, a French professional team.
The first full day of road racing on July 8, sees the riders leave London via the famous landmarks of Big Ben, St Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower of London before heading out through Greenwich. In Kent it will pass through Dartford, Tunbridge Wells and Ashford before finishing in Canterbury – a long ride of 126 miles.
It is still not known if last year’s American winner, Floyd Landis will ride to defend his title until the final outcome of his positive drugs test for excessive amounts of Testosterone, is known.
Landis vehemently denies he took the banned drug on stage 17 when he won at Morzine after a spectacular display of aggression last July to move once more within striking distance of the race leader. Currently, he is awaiting a hearing with the United States Anti-doping Agency who will decide whether he is guilty or not.
As with Lance Armstrong last year, little mention was made of the current Tour champion and, in the eyes of the organizers, Landis is already persona non-gratia.
Christian Prudhomme, the race’s new director continues to look forward in the on-going fight against drugs saying: The events of the summer have left their mark and indeed, not all of them have been solved, but if the spirit present in Strasbourg (last July’s Grand Depart) at the end of June is indeed the expression of a staunch and shared commitment to fight against doping, then not only do we have nothing to fear in the future, but everything to hope for.”
From British shores the race will transfer to Dunkirk and finish stage two in Ghent, Belgium. Moving through Paris-Roubaix countryside to Compiegne – where the famous classic starts – for the next stopover.
Riding, by way of a change, in a clockwise direction around France, the Alps are encountered after only six days of racing, although the route across them is arguably a little less arduous than in the recent past.
Even so, the climbs of the famous cols – Colombiere, Roseland, Iseran and Galibier will give early indications as to who will feature.
There is again, much to the sadness of many, no team time trial, but the individual time trials will play once more a vital role.
The first is based on Albi in the hot south on the eve of three very tough days in the Pyrenees and the last one is in the beautiful area between Cognac and Angouleme before the long journey towards Paris for the final stage.
Two mountain-top finishes in the Pyrenees will also include the last day in the mountains which will end on the giant Col d’Aubisque. It was here in 1985 where Irishman Stephen Roche won in the mist before Bernard Hinault won the overall event in Paris and to this day remains the last Frenchman to do so.
Christian Prudhomme said of this stage: ”The yellow jersey holder better not be having a bad day at this point. This is the hardest stage of the race.”
In all, an interesting and, I think an exciting route from start to finish. Only one long transfer during its 11 flat stages, three time trials and six mountains stages, so allowing the riders to get on with their racing and the helpers to enjoy without spending long hours behind the wheel and working into the night.
Enjoy it on Versus in July 2007!
