“Allo Londres, how do you like us now?” bellowed a French broadcaster in the publicity caravan as the Tour de France came to London for the first time on Saturday and Sunday. Judging by the size and enthusiasm of the crowds, they liked it very much indeed.

“I’ve never seen this many people at a bike race,” Australian Robbie McEwan, a Tour veteran, told the crowds before he went on to win Sunday’s stage from London to Canterbury in Kent. Fabian Cancellara, the Swiss rider who won Saturday’s time trial, remains the overall leader of the Tour.