DEPART ON OUR DOORSTEP

The first seven stages of this year's Tour take place just across the Channel in northern France. Steve Shrubsall provides a Manche-hopping spectator's guide

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While we have to wait until 2027 for the Tour de France to grace British roads again, this year's race serves as a solid warm-up.

The 112th edition of the Tour spends its first week running tantalisingly close to England's south coast, with the Grand Départ taking place just across the Channel in Lille. If you listen carefully you might even be able to hear the team presentations from the White Cliffs of Dover.

For those who don't fancy teetering on the Kentish coast with an ear trumpet, our guide below will put you in the midst of the best of the action on French soil. We've highlighted the best stages from the opening week, where we expect the most explosive action to play out, where to watch - and how to make the most of your time en France.

GRAND DÉPART

Travel options: Le Shuttle from Folkestone to Calais (35min, from £118 per car, return); Eurostar from London St Pancras to Lille (82min, from £70 per person, return); or ferry from Dover to Calais (90min, from £97 per car, return; or from £25 each way as a foot passenger).

Team presentation and Grand Départ, Lille, 4-5 July

The start of the biggest annual sporting event in the world is given a suitable amount of fanfare. As the lucky city to host the Grand Départ, Lille will be decked out in Tour finery in the weeks leading up to the big day. A host city in full swing is, in itself, a sight to behold, but the real fervour will reach a peak during the team presentation on Friday 4 July. Thousands will gather to watch their cycling heroes line up on the eve of the first stage when the race rolls out of the city.