Yorkshire, Yorkshire...

anyone fancy guessing the route - i assume the first stage will be the prologue TT in the city centre, but the second stage?

be a long stage probably, would it be able to take in holme moss climb as well as the dales or will it head for the malham area and stay in the dales or could it even take in the moors and the climb up sutton bank.

loads of possibilities

Would guess at it heading south. I do hope they take it over Holme Moss - already planning my picnic.

I have seen suggestions that it will not be a prologue but instead will head north into the moors. Didn't CP say something recently about the prologue not being popular and them planning on dropping it?

Could be a start/finish in Leeds for stage 1 so that the city gets the benefits of a prologue but the route will head out and take in the moors. Then stage 2 heading south before stage 3 heads further south to finish on The Mall with a bunch sprint.

As Stu has said I've also heard that the prolougue will be dropped.

I've heard day one will finish in Sheffield with the next day going somewhere????? and the last day London to Dover as with the 2007 race.

That's 2 days if you count the grande depart in Leeds. I've been pi$$ing my pants with excitement since the news broke yesterday morning.
I'm hoping to make all 3 days and travel down with the ride.
Now if I could persuade some people to go over and do the Tour of flanders / Paris Roubaix earlier that year that would be soooooooo cool.

Get in. Coming through Huddersfield, Holmfirth and over Holme Moss en route to Sheffield.

Wow - being from Halifax I'm just so excited about the Tour de France passing through Calderdale. If I still lived in the house I moved out of 12 months ago then I'd just have been able to open the curtains to see the peloton go past!

I'm heading down and have already set my plans with a few friends from Scotland (who are still a bit sore at not getting the nod).

Day 1 - Drive to Leeds with bikes, hang around the start before cycling to Otley to see the peloton move through, then take a scenic route to Harrogate to see the finish before cycling back. Sagan or Cavendish to win.

Day 2 - Find a pub on a decent climb to soak up the beer and atmosphere near my sisters house in Elland so I'm thinking either a pub on the climb out of Oxenhope, or Cragg Vale or the Fleece at Ripponden wheen they'll be climbing out of Ripponden to go over to Elland. Gilbert/Sagan/Thomas to win.

I'm super excited about this and only hope that the weather stays good and the local population understand just how enormous this is.

Ooh, there's an idea. The Fleece at Lane, at the bottom of Holme Moss.... It'll be packed.

If the pubs on the climbs have any sense then they will make a killing on these days. If there is one thing we can do proper in Yorkshire it's a pub on top of a hill!!