In 1994, the Tour de France riders drew huge crowds in Canterbury. An estimated three million spectators turned out to witness the historic 127-mile stage, which started in Dover and ended in Brighton, passing through Canterbury, Ashford, and Tunbridge Wells. This was the 81st edition of the race, and British rider Chris Boardman, now a renowned television pundit and bike manufacturer, wore the coveted yellow jersey as leader after winning the opening time trial. Unfortunately, his challenge for overall victory soon faded, and the Spaniard Miguel Indurain eventually won, marking the last time the Tour was won on a steel-framed bike as alloy and carbon fiber took over.
The route from Dover was lined with spectators, especially as nearly 190 racers streamed into Canterbury, sweeping down the High Street and past the Westgate Towers. As a reporter for the KentOnline’s sister paper, the Kentish Gazette, I remember the cyclists shooting past in a colorful blur – gone in a flash.
In 1994, cycling in the UK was nowhere near as popular as it is now, making it quite a unique sight. It was the year Tony Blair became Labour leader, the England football team missed the World Cup in the USA, and work was underway on the new Thanet Way.
The event also coincided with the opening of the Channel Tunnel a couple of months earlier, through which the riders and their teams were transported. The Tour would next return to the UK in 2007, with the stage finishing with a mad dash along the Rheims Way in Canterbury. During this event, an up-and-coming Mark Cavendish, who would go on to become the Tour’s greatest sprinter, was unseated after a crash with an overzealous spectator near Canterbury. Despite his best efforts, Cavendish was left stranded and finished the stage in tears.
The 2007 stage is said to have boosted the local economy by £40 million as the route took riders through Medway, Maidstone, and then west to Tunbridge Wells, before climbing through Goudhurst, on towards Ashford, and finishing in Canterbury.
The Tour returned to the UK in 2014 when riders competed across Yorkshire. However, a bid to stage the ‘Grand Depart’ in the UK in 2025 has been abandoned by UK Sport. Nonetheless, the organization believes there may be an opportunity in 2026, though it is not yet known whether Kent would feature in any stages.
