Le Tour Arrivee

Last updated : 05 July 2007 By Kev Monks

The world's biggest cycling race - The Tour De France starts on Saturday in London. Le Grand Departure starts with a prologue around the streets of the capital before twenty gruelling stages, which cover some 3,550 kilometres.


The race, which started in 1903 by French newspaper L'Equipe, will also visit Belgium before making it's way round France and finishing in Paris on Sunday July 29th.


England for the first time since 1994, hosts the first two stages - the Prologue from Whitehall to The Mall and on Sunday, the opening stage from London to Canterbury.


Le Tour has eleven flat stages with six mountain stages, one medium mountain stage and two individual time trials but it is the Prologue in London, which gives the best chance of a British victory.


Bradley Wiggins, who performed well for Britain in the World Track Cycling Championship back in March , is a local lad who knows the course well. In his second TDF, he will be riding for the Paris based Confidis team.


Winning the 7.9km Prologue in London would be a dream come true for the rider who won Olympic Gold in Athens. "It would probably surpass the Olympics purely because it's London. It could not be a better script," said the West Ham United supporting Wiggins in an interview with The Times. "It's a great story but the ending will decide whether it is a fairy tale or not."


Other British riders include the experienced David Millar riding for SDV. Millar rode the race last season after completing a drugs ban. A similar ban stripped last year's winner Floyd Landis of the title and means that this year no-one will wear the number one jersey.


Charles Wegelius will ride for the Liquigas team with Tom Geraint competing for Barloworld along with Roger Hammond and Mark Cavendish who is tipped to do well in the Canterbury stage, riding for T-Mobile.


Again, the Discovery Channel team made famous by seven times TDF winner Lance Armstrong will be amongst the favourites for the overall race. George Hincapie and Levi Leipheimer are well fancied amongst the bookies.


The action on Saturday starts at 3pm and is on Eurosport for those of you unable to watch this event live.


Cov Sport will have a full report and pictures from the day.