PARIS - Without last year's winner Floyd Landis in attendance, the 2007 Tour de France route was unveiled Thursday with a start in London on the second anniversary of terrorist bombings
.
The start of the race near Trafalgar Square will show the city is united, Mayor Ken Livingstone said.
Most reigning champions are invited for the route's yearly unveiling, but Tour organizers say they no longer considers Landis the winner because of a positive test for elevated testosterone.
The presentation, a traditional eight-minute film, ended with Landis on the winner's podium.
"Doping is the No.
1 problem in sport," Tour director Christian Prudhomme said. "We got hit over the back of the head by what happened."
Landis, who denies doping and vows to clear his name, is appealing.
The route for July 7-29 race features six mountain stages and 21 tough climbs over 2,120 miles. It's the first start in England and third time the race has passed through since stages in 1974 and 1994.
The event begins with a 5-mile prologue near Trafalgar Square.
Riders then head to Canterbury in the leafy countryside of Kent, before crossing the channel by ferry for the second stage, which begins in Dunkerque.
"Canterbury, with its prestigious cathedral and its magnificent countryside, is an ideal location," Prudhomme said. "We needed a city to the east of London and close to the channel."
Prudhomme hopes Livingstone will visit France during one of the stages before the race ends with its traditional eight laps around the Champs-Elysees.
The terrorist bombings in London killed 52 people on July 7, 2005.
.The start of the race near Trafalgar Square will show the city is united, Mayor Ken Livingstone said.
Most reigning champions are invited for the route's yearly unveiling, but Tour organizers say they no longer considers Landis the winner because of a positive test for elevated testosterone.
The presentation, a traditional eight-minute film, ended with Landis on the winner's podium.
"Doping is the No.
1 problem in sport," Tour director Christian Prudhomme said. "We got hit over the back of the head by what happened."Landis, who denies doping and vows to clear his name, is appealing.
The route for July 7-29 race features six mountain stages and 21 tough climbs over 2,120 miles. It's the first start in England and third time the race has passed through since stages in 1974 and 1994.
The event begins with a 5-mile prologue near Trafalgar Square.
Riders then head to Canterbury in the leafy countryside of Kent, before crossing the channel by ferry for the second stage, which begins in Dunkerque.
"Canterbury, with its prestigious cathedral and its magnificent countryside, is an ideal location," Prudhomme said. "We needed a city to the east of London and close to the channel."
Prudhomme hopes Livingstone will visit France during one of the stages before the race ends with its traditional eight laps around the Champs-Elysees.
The terrorist bombings in London killed 52 people on July 7, 2005.
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