Intro:

Cycling fans descend upon the centre of London on Monday (7th July) to watch the the climax of stage three of the Tour de France.

Script:

Tens of thousands of cycling fans gathered in central London on Monday, as the third stage of the Tour de France concluded in the English capital.

The crowds cheered wildly as the riders sprinted to a dramatic finish past Big Ben and Buckingham Palace to the line on The Mall.

It was the culmination of three days of 'Tour de France mania' in England, with Saturday and Sunday's opening stages in Yorkshire attracting record crowds as well.

SOUNDBITE (English) Alex Stockley, Tour de France fan from London:

"The Tour is the greatest race in the world. I've watched it since I was a kid with my dad and it's a pleasure to have it here in London."

SOUNDBITE (English) Janet Belcher, Tour de France fan from Surrey:

"It's just a happy occasion, isn't it, joining all our countries together."

The day's stage from Cambridge to London was won by Germany's Marcel Kittel who won his second stage of the 2014 Tour.

However, Vincenzo Nibali of Italy retained the leader's Yellow Jersey after finishing in the peloton.

Although the race finished without any major incidents, during the event, three Femen protesters broke away from the crowd and staged a topless protest against female genital mutilation.

Police quickly covered them up and took them away for questioning.

Elsewhere one member of the crowd was a little too enthusiastic and Sky rider David Lopez clipped him as he tried to take a snap of the peloton.

Andy Schleck suffered a painful crash as a result of other riders taking evasive action.