Our Gallic cousins flock to Le Tour and the television pictures confirm that every stage is lined with excited spectators. The Tour of Britain attracts a more modest, if no less enthusiastic, audience.
Much like the French version, our tour started as a promotional event for a newspaper back in the early 1950s. For most of its existence it was known as the Milk Race, back in an era when milk was the only white substance that riders used to build up their strength.
The five stages take in the length and breadth of the mainland, although this year Wales doesn’t get a look in. Stage five also finishes in Canterbury which will be the city hosting the end of stage one of the 2007 Tour de France.
The website gives all the latest news on the riders and the route, and you can download a handy PDF leaflet for your local stage, which gives information on where and when to see the race.
POSTED...
Wed 30 Aug 2006 at 8:29am
