MAYOR of London Ken Livingstone vowed the capital will give the 2007 Tour de France its greatest ever send-off as the full route of the race was unveiled in Paris.
An estimated two million spectators will descend on London and Kent between July 6-8 next year for the first three stages of the iconic Tour.
It is being billed as the biggest sporting event to hit London before the 2012 Olympics and is expected to inject £115million into the tourism industry.
Livingstone, in Paris for the ceremonial announcement, said: ‘I am proud that London will play a part in the long history of the Tour de France and the London Grand Depart underlines the capital’s status as a venue for world sporting events ahead of the Olympics in 2012.
‘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 Depart the Tour has ever seen, giving the riders a fantastic send-off as they start a gruelling three weeks racing.’
London will host the opening ceremony before the racing starts with the prologue on July 7, a five-mile lap of London starting at Whitehall and taking in some of London’s most famous landmarks including the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park before finishing on the Mall.
Stage one of the race starts the following day with the route taking riders through central London and out into Kent with the finish in the shadows of Canterbury cathedral.
The riders will cover a total of 3,547 kilometres in 20 stages through to the finish on the Champs Elysee on July 29.
London is preparing for ''Le Grand Départ'' of the 2007 Tour de France. The route, which will run through the Greenwich Millennium Village, is being prepared for the ''Départ''. The Tour de France will be in London and the South East for the two days of the 7th and 8th of July. The event will start in Trafalgar Square at 15:00 BST (UTC+1).

"I believe this will be the most spectacular Grand Départ the Tour has ever seen and the weekend will underline London’s great sporting reputation," said Ken Livingstone, mayor of London.

The parts of the Tour that London will be hosting are the ''Prologue'' and ''Stage One''. The ''Prologue'' will be on Saturday, the 7th of July, starting in Trafalgar Square at 15:00 BST and finishing at 18:20 BST. ''Stage One'' will be on the following day, starting in Greenwich at 11:00 BST and finishing in Canterbury, Kent.

Over the years the Tour de France has seen 52 British riders; the first being Charley Holland and Bill Burl in 1937. Londoners may get to see today's riders on their two wheels, but they will be followed by 1,500 vehicles, 13,000 policemen and women patrolling the route and 2,300 members of the world press.

During the event many roads will be closed along the route and off it. The official website provides detailed information.