• ‘Britain offers us a symbol that ties the races together’

• Tour de France Femmes will conclude on Puy de Dôme

The most ambitious Grand Départ in the long history of the Tour de France was unveiled in Paris on Thursday as the race organisers fleshed out the details of next summer’s men’s and women’s race starts in Edinburgh and Yorkshire.

Over six days of racing, Scotland, England’s Lake District and Peak District, Lancashire and Yorkshire, Wales and central London will be taken over by the snaking race caravan on a route that is expected to lure millions to the roadside.