Government to Fund £10m for 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart

The British government will fund £10m ($15.3m) of the £21m ($32.2m) cost for the 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart.

The event will be held in Yorkshire next year with the opening stages of the 101^st Tour running through Leeds, prostate Harrogate, medic York and Sheffield on July 5 and 6, sales before heading south to Cambridge and London on July 7.

Sport Minister Hugh Robertson announced the government funding figure and stated the rest would come from local authorities and parnters.

Robertson said: “The Tour de France is the biggest event in cycling and for this country to host the Grand Depart is a real honour.

“We want to help deliver a world class event that boosts all local economies where the race will pass through and encourages more people to get involved in cycling.”

Sir Rodney Walker, the former chairman of UK Sport and the Rugby Football League (RFL), will head the organising committee for the event, called the TDF 2014 Ltd.

Walker said: “I am honoured to have been asked to lead the board, and confident that I will be able to bring together the very best skills in Yorkshire and expertise from across the UK to deliver an excellent event we will all be proud of.”