Full details of the route for stage three of this year’s Tour de France, from Cambridge to London, have been revealed.
The stage, on Monday July 7, follows Yorkshire’s Grand Depart and will see the peloton heading south where a sprint finish is expected in the capital.
At 159km, the stage – which finishes on the Mall – is among the shorter engagements of the 101st Tour, and goes via Chelmsford, before heading west towards The Mall.
It will also pass through the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park en route to the battle royale between the world’s best fast men will play out in the shadow of Buckingham Palace.
Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano), Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) and Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) are likely to be among the big-name contenders for the stage.
The peloton is due to roll out of Cambridge city centre at 12.00pm, with the Tour caravan departing two hours earlier.
Starting at Parker’s Piece and passing through the historic student city via Regent Street and Sidney Street, the route then takes in the University’s famous colleges including King’s, Trinity and St. John’s.
World cycling’s elite will then leave the city via Trumpington Road, tackling the rest of Cambridgeshire via the A1301, passing through the villages of Trumpington, Great Shelford and Hinxton.
Heading into Essex via Saffron Walden, the peloton is expected to arrive into Chelmsford at 1.50pm before passing through Epping Forest and departing the county through Epping.
Ian Stannard (Team Sky) and Alex Dowsett (Movistar) will both be keen to contest the stage, having grown up in Chelmsford.
The stage is expected to finish at 3.30pm, with a similar finale to last year’s RideLondon – which Arnaud Demare (FDJ.fr) won – likely to occur.
For more details about the third stage, visit www.letour.2014stage3.com
