That big French cycle race... Why here?

[HertsBiker]

Sorry if a repost, I did check. Just wondering why it's going to be in the uk?

[TooMany2cvs]

HertsBiker said:

Sorry if a repost, I did check. Just wondering why it's going to be in the uk?

Because the Yorkshire tourist promoters suggested it, and the organisers agreed with them.
<shrug>

It's not as if it's the first time it's been in the UK, either.

[dave_s13]

Why not?

Benefits are similar to hosting any major sporting event. Stimulates the economy and promotes tourism....

Just don't plan any trips anywhere near the route that week, traffic will be fooked.

[heebeegeetee]

And it'll be fking fantastic, but I have no idea how I'd get to go and see the good bits 'cos I think those places are going to be swamped.

I hope all goes well and everybody has a great time. . I imagine it'll be a great atmosphere for those camping out beforehand etc.

[Johnnytheboy]

It's not the first time it's come here is it? Can't remember.

I do find it slightly surprising that the French - of all people - let it outside their borders.

[ewenm]

Johnnytheboy said:

It's not the first time it's come here is it? Can't remember.

I do find it slightly surprising that the French - of all people - let it outside their borders.

They often start it somewhere other than France. It started in London a few years ago.

As to why Britain - British riders have won LeTour for the last two years and one of the top sprinters is British, there's a big cycling boom happening in the UK, and the Yorkshire group got enough funding to buy the start.

[Johnnytheboy]

So it's like the Eurovision?

If a Russian guy wins for a year or two, the next race is going to be a bit taxing!

[ewenm]

The Giro d'Italia started in Belfast this year. Amazingly, they used a contraption called an "Aeroplane" to move the race to Italy after the first 3 stages rather than riding the whole way there

[Podie]

dave_s13 said:

Why not?

I thought the clue was in the name. Tour de France - so, it starts in... England.

[madbadger]

Podie said:

dave_s13 said:

Why not?

I thought the clue was in the name. Tour de France - so, it starts in... England.

Last time I went on a tour around France, I started in Yorkshire, too.

[Johnnytheboy]

To be fair, the Monte Carlo Rally doesn't take place entirely in Monte Carlo, for example.

[TooMany2cvs]

ewenm said:

They often start it somewhere other than France. It started in London a few years ago.

I saw it go through Hampshire in the mid-90s, too.

<quick google>
"This is the fourth Tour de France to contain stages in England (after 1974, 1994 and 2007)"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Tour_de_France#R...

[Podie]

madbadger said:

Podie said:

dave_s13 said:

Why not?

I thought the clue was in the name. Tour de France - so, it starts in... England.

Last time I went on a tour around France, I started in Yorkshire, too.

[spitfire4v8]

madbadger said:

Podie said:

dave_s13 said:

Why not?

I thought the clue was in the name. Tour de France - so, it starts in... England.

Last time I went on a tour around France, I started in Yorkshire, too.

[spitfire4v8]

Snap !

[Dave Hedgehog]

just what london needs more lycra clad chumps on kiddies bikes blocking the roads ...

[Johnnytheboy]

spitfire4v8 said:

madbadger said:

Podie said:

dave_s13 said:

Why not?

I thought the clue was in the name. Tour de France - so, it starts in... England.

Last time I went on a tour around France, I started in Yorkshire, too.

There's got to be a Monty Python "four Yorkshiremen" joke in here somewhere, I just can't quite get a grip on it.

[paranoid airbag]

Johnnytheboy said:

To be fair, the Monte Carlo Rally doesn't take place entirely in Monte Carlo, for example.

The Paris-Dakar is similarly divorced from its original run (I believe is now only called the Dakar rally, and even then no longer goes to Dakar but is held in South America?)

I'm personally wondering why this is in GG (although I also wonder why the TdF thread is in sports instead of pedal powered...), but the first reply got it right. They earnt more money/exposure by moving the start this year, so they did.

Cue many jokes about yorkshire reactions to £10k bicycles

[surveyor]

Dave Hedgehog said:

just what london needs more lycra clad chumps on kiddies bikes blocking the roads ...

London can go elsewhere - it's nowhere near Yorkshire!

[Johnnytheboy]

"Bike? Bike? Last time Ah did t' Tour de Bloody France in Yorkshire, I did it on me hands and bloody knees"