Ken Livingstone, the mayor of London, is hoping that the move will be made possible through the contacts he is making with his Parisien counterpart Bertrand Delanoe as the two cities prepare to bid against each other for the right to host the 2012 Olympics.
Said Livingstone: "We are exploring the possibilities for 2006, but it is in the very early stages. We are trying to build very strong links with Paris and the mayor of Paris has very good connections with the Tour de France."
Should such a move come to pass, it will be the first time that London has hosted the opening stages of the Tour. While this year's race will start in Paris, the 2004 event will begin in the Belgian city of Liege. It is unheard of for the Tour to start outside of France two years running meaning that the earliest London could play host to the race would be 2006.
Jean-Marie Leblanc, the director general of the Tour's organisers Amaury Sport Organisation, confirmed London's approach.
He said: "I know contact has taken place, I know they want to meet with me."
London initially declared its interest in April although the proposal is unlikely to be dealt with in detail until September, after this year's race has been concluded.
The signs are hopeful however according to Phillipe Sudres, the Tour's press officer: "In terms of organisation there is nothing crazy about starting the race in London. We have started in Dublin. We've also been through the Channel Tunnel."
The Tour de France has previously started in Luxembourg, Dublin, Amsterdam, Berlin and Brussels outside of France although a number of other cities and countries have expressed interest in hosting the race, New York being the one to catch the eye given that the Tour has never gone beyond Western Europe.
London is hoping to bring the start of the 2006 Tour de France cycling race to its streets.
