2014 Tour de France heads for England

2014 Tour de France heads for England

The 2014 edition of the Tour de France will start in England, race organisers said on Friday.

The first three stages of cycling's most important race will be held in England, with the start taking place in Leeds, while the third stage ends in London.

The last time stages of the Tour took place in England was in 2007.

The defending champion is England's Bradley Wiggins and race director Christian Prudhomme said that Wiggins' success had been one of the reasons why England had been given the go-ahead.

"Bradley Wiggins' historical victory last July and the enormous crowds that followed the cycling events in the streets of London during the Olympic Games encouraged us to go back earlier than we had initially planned," said Prudhomme.

"Since the resounding success of the Grand Depart in London in 2007, we were very keen to return to the United Kingdom.

Traditionally, if the race starts outside France, the first three stages are held in the country in which the start takes place.

The 100th edition of the Tour in 2013 will start in Corsica.

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