Le Grand Depart of this year's Tour de France will be in the Yorkshire city of Leeds on Saturday, 5 July.
One interesting feature that this year's Tour shares with last year's is that it will begin with a regular road stage rather than a prologue. Prologues are usually time-trial events, which are much shorter than road stages. Beginning the race with a road stage will give an opportunity for Mark Cavendish, who hails from the region, or his German rival Mark Kittel, to win the leader's yellow jersey (maillot jaune) on the first day and establish early dominance.
The first three stages of this year's race will be held in England before rolling into French soil at Le Touquet, which is nicknamed "Paris Plage" (Paris Beach) for all of the wealthy residents of the French capital who have second and weekend homes there.
One interesting feature that this year's Tour shares with last year's is that it will begin with a regular road stage rather than a prologue. Prologues are usually time-trial events, which are much shorter than road stages. Beginning the race with a road stage will give an opportunity for Mark Cavendish, who hails from the region, or his German rival Mark Kittel, to win the leader's yellow jersey (maillot jaune) on the first day and establish early dominance.
The first three stages of this year's race will be held in England before rolling into French soil at Le Touquet, which is nicknamed "Paris Plage" (Paris Beach) for all of the wealthy residents of the French capital who have second and weekend homes there.
