Tour de France: has Britain become a nation of cyclists?

Millions turned out to watch the opening stages of the race in England, but cyclists still lack acceptance

Crowds cheer as cyclists competing in the Tour de France
(Image credit: Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

After the "grandest" of Grand Departs through Yorkshire and south to London, the Tour de France has now returned home to the Continent, but the impact of the race on this side of the Channel will not quickly be forgotten.

As many as five million people are said to have watched the race over the two stages in Yorkshire, while the third instalment from Cambridge to London yesterday attracted bigger crowds in the capital than the 2012 Olympic road race.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us