Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, claims the Tour de France could return to London in time to coincide with the city staging the 2012 Olympics.
The capital successfully hosted the race for the first time on Saturday as the 7.9km prologue sprint passed by landmarks including Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and Big Ben on the way to a finish in Whitehall. Hundreds of thousands lined the streets to watch Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara triumph.
Tour festivities began in earnest on Friday evening with an opening ceremony held in Trafalgar Square. After Saturday’s time trial, stage one proper began in London on Sunday and took the peloton through scenic Kent countryside to a finish in Canterbury.
“The organisers (the Amaury Sport Organisation) have said they are very pleased,” said the mayor. “We should not be surprised that it has gone so well. Many countries now want to stage a sporting event in Britain because we are gaining a reputation for being the best in the world.”
The mayor said it would be realistic to expect a return of the event in five or six years’ time, thoughts echoed by Peter Hendy, London’s Transport Commissioner.
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“We are already thinking that it should come back.” said Hendy. Preparations for the 2012 Olympics would not be a problem and London would be ready anytime, he added. “Having it here brings the Tour to a whole new audience. We would do this whenever they come.
“Last week we had two unexploded bombs, a Tube derailment on the central line, Wimbledon and Live Earth and we still did this.”
Victoria Pendleton, British cycling’s four-time World Championship gold medallist, added: “London has some fantastic sites and there are many landmarks that people will recognise that make it a fantastic venue for the Tour. “To have the Tour in London is really prestigious. I do not think that a lot of people appreciate how difficult it is to get a stage.”
The Tour has visited England twice before. It came to Plymouth in 1974 and passed through Brighton and Portsmouth in 1994. This year is the first time it has begun here, however, and only the seventeenth time in the event’s 104-year history it has started outside France.