Sussex will find out today whether it will host one of the world's biggest sporting events.

Organisers of the Tour de France have already confirmed that next year's race will start in London.

The Tour will start with a prologue on July 7 taking in all the city's famous landmarks.

The second stage is believed to include an area around Ashdown Forest close to the Kent border near Tunbridge Wells.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone and race organiser Jean-Marie LeBlanc were unveiling the route in the capital today.

It will be the first time the Tour has crossed the channel since 1994 when Sussex hosted a stage between Dover and Brighton.

Thousands of fans lined the route through villages in Mid Sussex and up Ditchling Beacon before the descent into Brighton where the seafront finish attracted 200,000 spectators and boosted the county's economy by an estimated £10m.

Among those taking part was Sussex's Sean Yates who was allowed to lead the field when it passed close to his home in Forest Row so he could greet his family.

It was Yates's 11th and final tour and both he and Chris Boardman, who was competing for the first time, wore the leader's yellow jersey, the first time two Britons had done that since 1962.

Boardman said: "The last time the Tour visited these shores nearly three million people lined the roads, it was quite a spectacle. That will at least be trebled in the capital.

"We have a number of riders in Britain who can take the leader's yellow jersey - Bradley Wiggins is one that springs to mind - so that would be quite something for the British public."

Team GB cycling manager believes the prospect of watching the tour in London and the south-east will inspire people to take up the sport.

"From a performance point of view it's fantastic for our best British riders to perform in the biggest race in the world on home soil, particularly Bradley Wiggins.

"But also from a general sporting point of view it will also focus everyone's attention on the sport and increase participation levels."