Queen Elizabeth II, like so many in Britain, has taken quite a shine to cycling.
Bradley Wiggins became the first Brit to win the Tour de France last weekend, and David Millar also won a stage during La Grande Boucle. Sprint specialist Mark Cavendish, the reigning road world champion, is among the favorites to win Saturday's race that begins and ends just outside of Buckingham Palace.
"I was at a reception at Buckingham Palace the other night and the IOC president was introducing her to certain people," UCI President Pat McQuaid said of the queen.
"He introduces her to me and said, 'Mr. McQuaid is a president of a very important federation and it's cycling," he said. "With that, her eyes lit up. She said, 'Oh, we're very successful in cycling now. We just won the Tour de France!' She was very aware of it."
—Dave Skretta — http://www.twitter.com/APdaveskretta
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