Tour of Britain takes pro-bike message to the powers-that-be

Richard Caborn, minister for sport, gave a keynote speech at the reception. He said the success of the Tour proved that cycling was a "latent force in the UK."

He also heaped praise on British Cycling, the governing body of cycle sport in the UK:

"Cycling has one of the best governing bodies in sport. As we saw in the Olympics, there’s a clear relationship between medals and good governance."