Barcelona Insider

Barcelona will be launching a bid to make itself the “world’s yellowest city” to celebrate its involvement in the Tour de France.

Tour de France comes to Barcelona

On July 9th, the sixth stage of the famous cycle race will arrive in Barcelona, departing the city the following day to head to Andorra.

The Barcelona city council said that it would be receiving the Tour de France with “the world’s largest yellow wave”, which will provide a bright route for the cyclists to follow as they approach the finishing line.

To create the wave, spectators will be given yellow sheets to raise in the air as the cyclists pass by.

The convoy that travels with the Tour de France is expected to arrive in Barcelona at around 15:00 on July 9th, with the competitors due to follow at 17:00.

After covering a distance of some 3,500km, the race will come to an end on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on July 26th.

Visitors to Barcelona will be treated to an unmissable sporting spectacle this year when the 2009 Tour de France passes through the city.

Tour de France '09 comes to Barcelona

The sixth section of this year’s Tour will be a race from Girona to Barcelona on July 9th, while the seventh stage will see the competitors set off from the Catalan capital on July 10th on their way to Andorra.

Sports fans  in Paris will also have a chance to experience the wonder of the Tour when the Champs Elysees hosts the grand finale of this year’s contest on July 26th.

Other destinations that will be visited by the riders during their epic journey include Monaco on July 4th and 5th, Marseille on July 6th and Verbier in Switzerland on July 19th.

The gruelling race will see the athletes cover ten flat stages and seven mountain sections, covering a total distance of 3,500km.

Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France seven times between 1999 and 2005, making him the most successful competitor in the event’s history. The reigning champion is Carlos Sastre of Spain.