Tour de France Stage 1

Stage 1 is going to be starting in Leeds and finishing with a sprint into Harrogate, this stage also takes in the outstanding scenery and breathtakingly peaceful atmosphere of Yorkshire Dales. With stage 1 the riders will pass through 18 separate towns before ending in Harrogate.

At a mere 190 km or 118 miles they will possibly be completing this stage in a mouth watering 4 hours depending on some of the good old Yorkshire hills that they encounter.

Over the years the Grand Départ has regularly been held outside of France - in 2012 it was hosted by Belgium. With a worldwide television audience of 3.5billion annually Yorkshire is going to be a very busy county over the weeks leading up and during the Grand Départ.

Image credit: Yorkshire.com