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Au revoir Le Tour ... but come back soon

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Ross Lydall @RossLydall|Ben Leach|Evening Standard
5 April 2012

The Tour de France could be back in London before the Olympics after four million people watched its opening stages through the capital and Kent at the weekend.

Transport chiefs hailed the "phenomenal success" of hosting the tour - a key test of the 2012 plans - and Mayor Ken Livingstone said: "I am looking forward to the time when we can welcome Le Tour back to London."

Around two million people watched the Trafalgar Square opening ceremony on Friday night and the prologue time-trials around Hyde Park and The Mall on Saturday. A further two million are thought to have lined yesterday's 126-mile Grand Depart to Canterbury - making the total number of spectators twice as large as expected.

Australian Robbie McEwan crossed the Canterbury finish line first despite an earlier crash but Swiss Fabian Cancellara, who astonished crowds with his victory in the prologue, retained the leader's yellow jersey.

A Transport for London spokesman said talks would now begin with tour organiser the Amaury Sport Organisation. The world's largest annual sporting event starts outside France every three to four years.

The TfL spokesman said: "We would like to see the tour back as soon as possible. I can't give you a date yet - there are lots of other countries that would like to host it."

Hyde Park was the centre of Saturday's events, with crowds lining the 4.9 mile circuit to cheer every one of the 189 riders - none more so than Londoner Bradley Wiggins, who came fourth - as they passed a minute apart accompanied by French gendarmes or Met officers on motorbikes.

Thousands watched events on 18 giant screens around Hyde Park and Green Park. Cancellara's ride was so fast - 13 seconds better than the next best rider - he almost caught his police outrider.

Yesterday saw the Mayor wave off the Tour from Tower Bridge before the race proper got under way from Greenwich, taking around five hours to reach Canterbury in a sprint finish.

The event cost £6.8 million to stage, plus around £7.7million in policing costs. The economic benefit to London and the South-East was estimated at £115 million.

Superintendent Ian Chappell of the Met police said that despite the failed London car bomb attacks and Saturday being the second anniversary of the 7/7 bombings: "It has been a brilliant weekend and this is business as usual in London."