Tour route in England finalised

The route to be ridden on the UK section of this year’s Tour de France has been finalised. The London Prologue route was announced a couple of months ago and now the 1st Stage from London to Canterbury has been detailed.

The Prologue’s on the 7 July and the 203km Stage One on the 8th, going from Admiralty Arch east out of London to Gravesend, then swinging southwest through Medway and Maidstone to Royal Tunbridge Wells, finally snaking its way east across Kent to Canterbury.

As part of the preparation for holding the start of the Tour in the UK the organisers have been having a number of Tour de France Roadshows this month. The next one is on 20 January in front of the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton, south London, followed on the 31 January by one at the Harlequin Shopping Centre in Watford.

The Roadshow at the Ritzy will be on from 12-4.30pm and will feature a stage were interviews and musical events will take place and they’ll be giving away prizes. Racing bikes will be on stage for you to try out and they’ll be giving information on the Tour and how it will unfold in London. You can also pick up a form if you’d like to be a volunteer marshal for the London stages, which you can complete and hand in on the day.

Organisers are expecting up to 15million people to watch some part of the Grand Depart weekend, the opening ceremony on 6 July and the two stages, and if you’re thinking of coming to London for the Tour don’t forget to check out the deals on Bootsnall for hostels and airline tickets.