Cycling battle for tour stage

London is facing competition from five other bids to host a stage in the 2005 Tour de France.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone has made a proposal for the race to visit Britain for the second time but this bid faces competition from Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland (Lugano), Holland (Utrecht) and even Quebec, a French-speaking area of Canada.

It is thought that a successful London application would see the opening Tour prologue around Westminster and finishing on The Mall, a first stage proper around London and a second stage to the Channel Tunnel in Folkestone.

Christian Prudhomme, the assistant director of the Tour, revealed the bids on a visit to the Tour of Slovakia.

He said: “At the moment we have six offers for next year - from Belgium, Denmark, London, Lugano, Utrecht and Quebec.”

The Tour often visits foreign countries and has been known to start abroad. This year’s race began in Liege, Belgium while the notorious 1998 Tour - which was overshadowed by drugs scandals - began in Dublin.