J
John Hearns
Guest
From the Evening Standard 12 September.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/articles/6671168?source=Evening%20Standard
Le Tour could close London By Patrick Sawer, London could be closed for a weekend if we win a bid to
host the 2006 Tour de France
The centre of the capital would be closed to traffic for the first leg of the race.
Proposed routes for the first three days of the Tour are published today.
A five-mile time-trial on a Saturday in July would include The Mall, Admiralty Arch, Whitehall,
Parliament Square, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park and the Serpentine.
The following day's 102-mile stage would start in Greenwich at the National Maritime Museum and loop
The next day a 112-mile leg stage would start at Rochester Castle in Kent and finish in Portsmouth,
which hosted the Tour when it came to England in 1994.
Ministers, the royal family and business leaders all support the bid.
Bid coordinator Peter Hendy, of Transport for London, said: "The public spaces and monuments in
London would be a stunning backdrop to the opening of the Tour."
London will have to wait until 18 months to see if the bid has won.
The theme is a Tale of Two Tours, after Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities, to emphasise the historic
link between the two capitals.
Mayor Ken Livingstone hopes it will boost tourism and encourage people to cycle. If successful, the
London stage of the Tour will boost our chances of hosting the 2012 Olympics.
Mr Hendy said: "We think we have submitted a really strong bid.
"We have the support of all the right people in government and hope the organisers will be just as
enthusiastic."
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/articles/6671168?source=Evening%20Standard
Le Tour could close London By Patrick Sawer, London could be closed for a weekend if we win a bid to
host the 2006 Tour de France
The centre of the capital would be closed to traffic for the first leg of the race.
Proposed routes for the first three days of the Tour are published today.
A five-mile time-trial on a Saturday in July would include The Mall, Admiralty Arch, Whitehall,
Parliament Square, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park and the Serpentine.
The following day's 102-mile stage would start in Greenwich at the National Maritime Museum and loop
The next day a 112-mile leg stage would start at Rochester Castle in Kent and finish in Portsmouth,
which hosted the Tour when it came to England in 1994.
Ministers, the royal family and business leaders all support the bid.
Bid coordinator Peter Hendy, of Transport for London, said: "The public spaces and monuments in
London would be a stunning backdrop to the opening of the Tour."
London will have to wait until 18 months to see if the bid has won.
The theme is a Tale of Two Tours, after Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities, to emphasise the historic
link between the two capitals.
Mayor Ken Livingstone hopes it will boost tourism and encourage people to cycle. If successful, the
London stage of the Tour will boost our chances of hosting the 2012 Olympics.
Mr Hendy said: "We think we have submitted a really strong bid.
"We have the support of all the right people in government and hope the organisers will be just as
enthusiastic."