Tour de France comes to town
LE Tour de France, the world’s largest annual sporting event, is coming to the UK this July.
Over the weekend of July 6, 7 and 8, London will stage Le Grand Départ of the Tour de France.
Teams will be unveiled on Friday, July 6 in Trafalgar Square.
And on Saturday, July 7, around 200 riders will speed around the 7.9km Prologue course, and British hopefuls Bradley Wiggins and David Millar will be competing for the coveted yellow jersey.
On Sunday, July 8, the Tour de France will depart for the 209km Stage 1 from The Mall.Stage One is set to be one of the most spectacular stages of the Tour.
It will pass some of London’s most iconic landmarks,before whizzing down through theGarden of England to a spectacular finish in the shadow of Canterbury Cathedral.
With more than two million spectators expected to line the route from London to Kent, the event will be unmissable.
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.