Tour de France 1994
On 7th July 1994 the Tour de France passed through Rowlands Castle. The 81st Tour had started in Lille, but Stages 4 and 5 were completed in England. This was only the second time the tour had visited England, and was to mark the opening of the Channel Tunnel. Stage 4 was Dover to Brighton but Stage 5 started and ended in Portsmouth. Coming out of Portsmouth, the route took these elite cyclists through Winchester, Basingstoke, Alton and Petersfield before cycling through Finchdean, along Finchdean Road and Redhill Road before heading back up Havant Road towards Portsdown Hill and back into Portsmouth. The stage was won by Nicola Minali of Italy and Britain’s Chris Boardman and a young American called Lance Armstrong made an appearance. You can find the approximate route here. <Approx route of Stage 5 1994 Tour de France Portsmouth · Ride with GPS > Photo credit Pauline Corfield/Paul Marshman
