On Sunday, some of the world’s best cyclists will be racing past London’s landmarks as the Aviva Tour of Britain comes to a head in the West End.
Riders taking part in the race include Sir Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish, André Greipel and former hour challenge record holder Alex Dowsett.
Cycling is like no other sport in terms of how close you can get to your sporting heroes and considering what you’d pay for the pleasure of seeing sports stars at Stamford Bridge or the Emirates, the fact it's free is also a massive attraction.
So where exactly are they going to be racing? Well, as the West End isn’t that big, they’ll be completing 14 laps of a 6.2km circuit (87km in total) between 3.30pm and 5.30pm. The start/finish line is on Regent Street which the course loops around. From there, the riders head down Haymarket and on to the Strand; here they swing around the half-moon of Aldwych back down the Strand, on to Whitehall, looping around near Parliament Square, past Dave’s place and back up to Regent Street.
It goes without saying — the riders a pretty quick, so the best chance of seeing them will be on one of tight bends, such as Whitehall or Regent Street. These are likely to be busy so our advice is if you want to be there, arrive early. Other great viewing areas will be near Trafalgar Square or any of the other tight turns where riders will need to slow.
If you've got time to kill, you can also head to the 'promo-zone' in Trafalgar Square between 10am and 5.30pm to try your hand at emulating your heroes in a finish line sprint on an adapted bike with Cav's team sponsors. They'll even take a photo of your red, sweaty face for you to share on social media.
If you want to watch the Tour, but don’t want to feel like a plonker when your kid asks what’s going on, we recommend swotting up on the lingo with this bluffer’s guide.
