9th July 2007

On Saturday 7th July the world’s biggest annual sporting event, the Tour de France, began on the streets of London, and Televideo provided the outside broadcast facilities and crew for Eurosport’s coverage of the prologue stage of the race. Approximately 189 riders set off from Greenwich on Saturday; they will now cycle a gruelling 2200 miles before the race ends on the Champs Elysee in Paris on 29 th July.

This year the Tour de France prologue began in London for the first time in its 104-year history, with over 1 million spectators lining the streets to witness the start of the race. The route saw cyclists start their 7.9km time trials at Whitehall, passing Parliament Square, Victoria Street, Buckingham Gate and Constitution Hill before finishing at The Mall. In order to cover the event Televideo crew rigged cables through some of London’s famous landmarks, including the stables on Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall, and The Mall. The small outside broadcast provided coverage for both British Eurosport and Eurosport’s coverage of the race prologue.