7-29 July 2007

The most famous cycle race in the world, the Tour de France, starts in London for the first time in its 104 year history, although stages of the race have come to Britain twice before, in 1974 and 1994. An estimated two billion are expected to watch the Tour on TV and more than 15 million spectators will turn out by the roadside as the race winds its way around France, including gruelling stages across spectacular mountain passes.

The Tour is a vast logistical juggernault with nearly 5,000 support staff and 2,000 vehicles, 1,600 television and radio staff, 2,300 journalists, 1,200 photographers and 13,000 policemen protecting the route. Each of the riders can expect his every need to be catered for, including hotels, meals and mechanics to fix his machine.

Yet when the race was devised by Henri Desgrange in 1903 as a marketing tool to boost the circulation of his sports paper, l’Auto (the forerunner of l’Equipe, the French sports daily), the riders had to fend for themselves. They entered as individuals, and were expected to arrange their own food and accommodation. Not that they needed many hotel rooms, for several of the six stages continued right through the night. The winner of the first Tour, Maurice Garin, riding a fixed gear bike weighing 15kg, set such a furious pace that he passed the finishing line before any of the judges had arrived.

The first British rider to take part in the Tour, Charles Holland in 1937, was disqualified for holding on to a car!

The race leader wears the coveted yellow jersey but there is also a special prize for the rider who finishes last. He is known as the ‘lanterne rouge’, a reference to the lantern waved at the rear of the pack in the early days of the race, as a warning to motorists to slow down.  

 

Saturday 7 July 2007, le Grand Départ

City of London - 8 km

 

Sunday 8 July 2007, stage 1

London > Canterbury - 203 km

 

Monday 9 July 2007, stage 2

Dunkerque > Gand - 167 km

 

Tuesday 10 July 2007, stage 3

Waregem > Compiègne - 236 km

 

Wednesday 11 July 2007, stage 4

Villers-Cotterêts > Joigny - 190 km

 

Thursday 12 July 2007, stage 5

Chablis > Autun - 184 km

 

Friday 13 July 2007, stage 6

Semur-en-Auxois > Bourg-en-Bresse - 200 km

 

Saturday 14 July 2007, stage 7

Bourg-en-Bresse > Le Grand-Bornand - 197 km

 

Sunday 15 July 2007, stage 8

Le Grand-Bornand > Tignes - 165 km

 

Monday 16 July 2007

Rest day

 

Tuesday 17 July 2007, stage 9

Val-d’Isère > Briançon - 161 km

 

Wednesday 18 July 2007, stage 10

Tallard > Marseille - 229 km

 

Thursday 19 July 2007, stage 11

Marseille > Montpellier - 180 km

 

Friday 20 July 2007, stage 12

Montpellier > Castres - 179 km

 

Saturday 21 July 2007, stage 13

Albi time trial - 54 km

 

Sunday 22 July 2007, stage 14

Mazamet > Plateau-de-Beille - 197 km

 

Monday 23 July 2007, stage 15

Foix > Loudenvielle - Le Louron - 196 km

 

Wednesday 25 July 2007, stage 16

Orthez > Gourette - Col d’Aubisque - 218 km

 

Thursday 26 July 2007, stage 17

Pau > Castelsarrasin - 188 km

 

Friday 27 July 2007, stage 18

Cahors > Angoulême - 210 km

 

Saturday 28 July 2007, stage 19

Cognac > Angoulême - 55 km

 

Sunday 29 July 2007, stage 20

Marcoussis > Paris - 130 km

The race finishes on the Champs-Élysées between 5 and 7 p.m.

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