The Tour passes through some of Britain's most scenic locations

The race starts in Crystal Palace Park with its first-ever prologue time trial followed by six stages around England and Scotland.

The first stage runs from Reading to Southampton, followed by Yeovilton to Taunton, Worcester to Wolverhampton, and Rotherham to Bradford.

Stage five is from Liverpool to Kendal, and stage six from Dumfries to Glasgow.

Interview: Bradley Wiggins

Nearly 100 riders in 16 teams will make up the field for this year's event, which is a stage longer than the 2006 Tour.

That was won by Danish rider Martin Pedersen of the CSC team.

However, his victory was overshadowed by a go-slow on the penultimate stage as riders protested about roads on the route not being properly closed to other traffic.

Oganisers say they have addressed their concerns this year by using a permanent team of 28 police motorcyclists to enforce a rolling road closure programme.

They have also insisted that local authorities ensure there are no parked cars on the last 8-10km of the route before the finish on each stage.

On the second stage, a 6km stretch of private road across Exmoor will be completely close to other traffic.

The Tour now spans two weekends in term time, and schools are being encouraged to let pupils line the route when the race passes through their area.