Could the Tour de France be returning to Britain for another Grand Départ?
Two bids have been tabled to bring the world’s greatest cycling race to these shores and the efforts of the various parties involved have clearly caught the attention of those who matter.
Christian Prudhomme told ITV4 that La Grande Boucle would return to Britain in the short to medium term.
“We are deeply aware of a powerful road cycling scene in England and the unforgettable Grand Départ in London in 2007,” he said.
The team behind Edinburgh’s bid to host the start of the 2017 Tour de France visited the prologue stage of the 2012 Tour in Liege to see first hand what is required of a successful Grand Départ.
Stuart Turner, from event Scotland said: “The most important thing for us is to develop a proposal that will deliver a spectacular bike race for ASO and most importantly the riders, and I am confident that the combined experience and knowledge of the partners involved will achieve that.”
This proposal would see the riders presentation held at Edinburgh Castle in front of 8,000 spectators while the prologue course would take the riders through Edinburgh, past Holyrood Palace, the Scottish Parliament, the Royal Mile and Arthur’s Seat.
A bid from Yorkshire hopes to bring the race to Britain’s largest county in 2016, and has gained support from Mark Cavendish and Brian Robinson.
Gary Verity, who is leading the bid, said: “We want to deliver the best international Grand Depart in the Tour’s history. We met with ASO and we’ve worked hard as a country to address all of their requirements. We could host the Tour de France tomorrow.
He later said: “We want to inspire a new generation of cyclists from Yorkshire to follow them and make their mark in the greatest cycle race in the world.”
