Tour De France starts tomorrow so cycling fans be careful out on the roads

The 103rd Tour de France starts tomorrow (2nd July 2016) from the beautiful Mont-Saint-Michel to Utah Beach. The Tour finishes in Paris on Sunday 24th July. By then the 198 riders who started the Tour will have covered a total of 3519 km in 21 stages.

The stages are as follows:-

• 9 flat
• 1 hilly
• 9 mountain stages including 4 summit finishes
• 2 individual time trials
• 2 rest days

Chris Froome (Team Sky) will be looking to add to his victories in 2013 and 2015. His main rivals are Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Alberto Contador (Tinkoff), Fabio Aru (Astana), Richie Porte and Tejay van Garderen (both BMC Racing).

Stage 1 is likely to be won by the sprinters and for David McWilliam, Partner and Head of Personal Injury at Ellis Jones, the stage has special significance. In September/October 2015, he rode from Rome to Home (Bournemouth) in 14 days and on the last day of the ride, took in some of the route to be used on stage 1. His group of 20 riders who completed the ride stopped off in the small village of Sainte-Marie-Du Mont on 2nd October 2015 and the Tour was already the talk of the village. The countdown clock was on in the main square.

Many cyclists are members of British Cycling and get free legal advice as part of their membership. David McWilliam would urge any cyclist injured in an accident to speak to him first about their accident before contacting their legal advice line. The advice he provides will be free of charge. His direct dial is 01202 057710 and e-mail is david.mcwilliam@ellisjones.co.uk. David McWilliam is a keen cyclist and has acted for hundreds of injured cyclists over the years. He has specialist knowledge in this subject and has links with local and national bike shops together with physiotherapists and chiropractors to help injured cyclists recover from their injuries and get back on their bikes as quickly as possible.

Another sight seen on the Rome to Home Bike Ride was in one of the towns that the tour visited in 2013. The towns and villages certainly encompass the Tour de France visiting them and in Saint Pourcain, the town has a permanent reminder of the tour with an absolutely stunning sculpture on one of their roundabouts.

The boom in British cycling in the last 10 years has seen more and more cyclists get out on the road. The Tour de France coverage only increases the amount of cyclists getting out on their bikes. David McWilliam would urge them to be careful on the roads.

Find out more on how we can help you on our cycling injury pages.