Description:

Although the route of the 2012 Tour de France is far from being finalised, it is expected to include a  197km stage from Rouen to Saint  Quentin in Picardy on 5 July. The previous stage on 4 July  will also pass through Normandy being from  Abbeville in Somme to Rouen in Seine-Maritime .

Rouen has been a stage town on 19 previous occasions and the capital of Normandy has become a regular stage of the Tour de France, having been included for the first time in 1949.  for cycling enthusiasts Rouen is synonymous with one of the most famous cyclists of all time namely Jacques Anquetil . For his maiden Tour in 1957, the rider won his first half stage at home.That year , he finished his first Tour de France as victor wearing the Yellow Jersey.

The Rouen-Saint Quentin route is likely to pass through some of Normandy’s loveliest countryside a including Fleury sur Andelle, the near perfect village of  Lyons la Foret  in Eure, in the middle of one of the largest and most spectacular beech forests in France, Bezu la Foret and then the Pays de Bray market town of Gournay en Bray before heading into Oise and Picardy via Songeons , Marseille en Beauvaisis and Crevecoeur le Grand.

The final route through Normandy is expected to be decided at the beginning of December this year with the sponsors and backers signing an agreement towards the end of this year.

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