Countdown to Tour de France Grand Depart

Team Sky's Chris Froome on his way to winning the 2013 Tour de France in Paris, France Credit: PA Pictures

Sunday January 5 marks six months to go until the race begins on the Headrow in Leeds. The Grand Départ takes place in Leeds city centre heralding the start of two Tour stages across Yorkshire and a third in the south. Organisers have revealed that two days before the biggest ever Tour de France Team Presentation will take place at the Leeds Arena.

The event will be overseen by Martin Green, the Head of Ceremonies for the London 2012 Olympics, where he led the team who delivered the opening and closing ceremonies.

The TdF team presentation will see him return to the city where he studied for his masters degree in theatre studies at Leeds University.

The Team Presentation will showcase each team to mark the official arrival of the Tour de France - the world's largest annual sporting event - of Yorkshire's Grand Depart where two stages will take place on July 5 and 6 next year, with a third from Cambridge to London on July 7.