Sussex could host the world's most famous cycle race next year.

Business and civic leaders are eagerly waiting to find out if the 2007 Tour de France will be routed through the county after London yesterday clinched a £1.5 million deal to start the first leg of the race.

British officials were last night tight-lipped about the route details but said it could also include a stage in Sussex before the riders return to France.

London beat off bids from Holland, Switzerland and Denmark to open the world's most famous cycle race and London Mayor Ken Livingstone expects the event will be a money spinner.

It will be the first time the legendary race has set off from Britain in its 103-year history. The last time the tour took to British soil was in 1994, when an estimated three million spectators lined the route on two stages from Dover to Portsmouth via Brighton.

Economists say the event would be a major boost for Sussex if the county clinches the route, details of which are expected to be revealed on February 9.

Tony Mernagh, of the Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership, said: "I sincerely hope it does wend its way through here.

"The last time it came it was a great boost for the economy and, apart from that, it was very good fun."

If the Tour returns to Sussex, the hotel and hospitality trade would expect a major increase in bookings as visitors flock to watch the famous race.

The Tour, which began in 1903, made its first appearance in the UK in 1974.

Next year, London will host a short time-trial before starting a full leg in the capital. The leg is then expected to head south, ultimately to the English Channel.

Mr Livingstone said the tour organisers had been paid £1.5 million for the right to stage the event. He said he believed the return on the money would be "massively beneficial".

In 1994, the route took cyclists over Ditchling Beacon and on to Madeira Drive.

Brighton Pavilion MP David Lepper lobbied race organisers for a return to Sussex and Brighton and Hove, which is now a cycling demonstration city.

He said: "We have proved that the roads of Sussex and the climb into Brighton and Hove are a good route.

"If there is any chance it might come here then that's an opportunity we would want to take. The race is seen by hundreds of millions of people which means the city is being seen world-wide."