SOME of Edinburgh's finest landmarks could provide the backdrop to the opening of the Tour de France after the city moved up a gear in its bid to host the event's Grand Depart.
Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, the Palace of Holyrood and Arthur's Seat could all be incorporated on to the route for the short time trial of the 2017 race.
The Scottish Government, British Cycling and UK Sport hope to host the opening stages in the Scottish capital before cyclists travel to England and Wales, with an "overall aim of keeping the Tour in the UK for as long as possible".
The organisers of the Tour de France, Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO), are said to have been impressed by Edinburgh during a recent visit.
A more detailed bid will now be considered to map out a potential route for the 198 competitors in the world's most famous cycling event.
A spokesman for Event Scotland said: "Edinburgh has an amazing wealth of scenery and there will be more than enough to choose from. There is nothing solid yet as to where the race might go but the next stage is to sit down and look at the route in more detail.
"The critical thing is to give the riders a really good experience and keep them at the front of what we are trying to do."
The Grand Depart aims to extend the influence of the race and attracts a further two million spectators to the sporting event.
Host cities receive a huge economic boost as a result. Portsmouth hosted a stage of the event in 1994 and London held the Grand Depart in 2007.
The Tour usually starts outside of France every other year.
In 2010, the race began in Rotterdam and the 2012 edition is set to start in Liege.
First Minister Alex Salmond said: "To bring such a fantastic event to Scotland would be a huge coup, but we have a strong track record and I know the country has a huge amount to offer ASO and the cyclists taking part."
Scotland has a record of hosting successful cycling events, including the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup and the 2007 world championships, with Edinburgh putting on a night-time city-centre race in 2009 and 2010.
It also has a highly-regarded record of producing championship cyclists ranging from Sir Chris Hoy to Graeme Obree, David Millar and Robert Millar.
However, Scotland's bid could come under some pressure from Yorkshire's proposals to host the event in 2016, given that the possibility of staging consecutive Grand Departs in the UK has been ruled out.
British Cycling chief executive Ian Drake said: "The last visit to Britain by the Tour de France was a great success for all involved and is held in very high regard by those riders that took part.
"British Cycling has embraced the opportunity to work with Scotland, helping them to fulfil their ambition of bringing the Grand Depart to Edinburgh.
"British Cycling has identified bringing the Tour de France to Great Britain as a key part of its major event strategy.
"We will do all we can to work with proactive partners to encourage ASO to choose Great Britain as a host venue and to encourage them to keep their amazing race on our shores for as many stages as possible."
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