Organisers have put their plans are in place, the road closures have been outlined, and the county is set for the teams to arrive in Essex for leg 3 of the Tour de France - but who exactly are the teams and
See below for everything you need to know about the elite cyclists winging their way past the county's roads:
Teams
Team Sky
C. Froome GBR
B. Eisel AUT
V. Kiryienka BLR
D. López ESP
M. Nieve ESP
D. Pate USA
R. Porte AUS
G. Thomas GBR
X. Zandio ESP
Movistar
A. Valverde ESP
I. Erviti ESP
J. Gadret FRA
J. Herrada ESP
B. Intxausti ESP
J. Izagirre ESP
R. Plaza ESP
J. Rojas ESP
G. Visconti ITA
Katyusha
J. Rodríguez ESP
V. Isaichev RUS
A. Kristoff NOR
L. Paolini ITA
A. Porsev RUS
E. Silin RUS
G. Smukulis LAT
S. Špilak SLO
Y. Trofimov RUS
Tinkoff-Saxo
A. Contador ESP
D. Bennati ITA
J. Hernández ESP
R. Majka POL
M. Mørkøv DEN
S. Paulinho POR
N. Roche IRL
M. Rogers AUS
M. Tosatto ITA
Astana
V. Nibali ITA
J. Fuglsang DEN
A. Grivko UKR
D. Gruzdev KAZ
M. Iglinskiy KAZ
T. Kangert EST
M. Scarponi ITA
A. Vanotti ITA
L. Westra NED
Cannondale
P. Sagan SVK
M. Bodnar POL
A. De Marchi ITA
T. King USA
K. Koren SLO
M. Marcato ITA
J. Marino FRA
F. Sabatini ITA
E. Viviani ITA
Belkin
B. Mollema NED
L. Boom NED
S. Clement NED
S. Kruijswijk NED
T. Leezer NED
B. Tankink NED
L. ten Dam NED
S. Vanmarcke BEL
M. Wynants BEL
Omega Pharma - Quick Step
M. Cavendish GBR
J. Bakelants BEL
M. Golas POL
M. Kwiatkowski POL
T. Martin GER
A. Petacchi ITA
M. Renshaw AUS
N. Terpstra NED
M. Trentin ITA
AG2R
J. Péraud FRA
R. Bardet FRA
M. Chérel FRA
S. Dumoulin FRA
B. Gastauer LUX
B. Kadri FRA
S. Minard FRA
M. Montaguti ITA
C. Riblon FRA
Garmin
A. Talansky USA
J. Acevedo COL
J. Bauer NZL
A. Howes USA
B. King USA
S. Langeveld NED
R. Navardauskas LTU
T. Slagter NED
J. Vansummeren BEL
Giant
M. Kittel GER
R. Curvers NED
K. de Kort NED
J. Degenkolb GER
D. Devenyns BEL
T. Dumoulin NED
C. Ji CHN
A. Timmer NED
T. Veelers NED
Lampre
R. Costa POR
D. Cimolai ITA
K. Ðurasek CRO
C. Horner USA
S. Modolo ITA
N. Oliveira POR
M. Richeze ARG
J. Serpa COL
R. Valls ESP
FDJ.fr
T. Pinot FRA
W. Bonnet FRA
M. Delage FRA
A. Démare FRA
A. Jeannesson FRA
M. Ladagnous FRA
C. Pineau FRA
J. Roy FRA
A. Vichot FRA
Lotto
J. Van den Broeck BEL
L. Bak DEN
B. De Clercq BEL
T. Gallopin FRA
A. Greipel GER
A. Hansen AUS
G. Henderson NZL
J. Roelandts BEL
M. Sieberg GER
BMC Racing
T. van Garderen USA
D. Atapuma COL
M. Burghardt GER
A. Moinard FRA
D. Oss ITA
M. Schär SUI
P. Stetina USA
G. Van Avermaet BEL
P. Velits SVK
Europcar
P. Rolland FRA
Y. Arashiro JPN
B. Coquard FRA
C. Gautier FRA
Y. Gène FRA
A. Pichot FRA
P. Quémeneur FRA
K. Reza FRA
T. Voeckler FRA
Trek USA
F. Cancellara SUI
M. Busche USA
M. Irizar ESP
G. Rast SUI
A. Schleck LUX
F. Schleck LUX
D. van Poppel NED
J. Voigt GER
H. Zubeldia ESP
Cofidis
D. Navarro ESP
N. Edet FRA
E. García ESP
C. Lemoine FRA
L. Maté ESP
R. Molard FRA
A. Petit FRA
J. Simon FRA
R. Taaramäe EST
Orica
S. Gerrans AUS
M. Albasini SUI
S. Clarke AUS
L. Durbridge AUS
M. Hayman AUS
J. Keukeleire BEL
M. Matthews AUS
S. Tuft CAN
S. Yates GBR
IAM Cycling
S. Chavanel FRA
M. Elmiger SUI
M. Frank SUI
H. Haussler AUS
R. Hollenstein SUI
R. Kluge GER
J. Pineau FRA
S. Reichenbach SUI
M. Wyss SUI
Net App
L. König CZE
J. Bárta CZE
D. De la Cruz ESP
Z. Dempster AUS
B. Huzarski POL
T. Machado POR
J. Mendes POR
A. Schillinger GER
P. Voß GER
Bretagne
J. Bideau FRA
A. Delaplace FRA
B. Feillu FRA
R. Feillu FRA
A. Fonseca FRA
A. Gérard FRA
F. Guillou FRA
B. Jarrier FRA
F. Vachon FRA
The runners and riders to look out for in each team
Team Sky - Chris Froome
Tinkoff Saxo - Alberto Contador
Movistar - Alejandro Valderde
Astanaa - Vincenzo Nibali
OmegaPharma-Quickstep - Mark Cavendish
Giant Shimano - Marcel Kittel
Cannondale - Peter Sagan
BMC Racing - Tejay van Garderen
The key milestones and winners in 2013
General Classification – Chris Froome– Yellow Jersey
Points Classification – Peter Sagen– Green Jersey
Mountains Classification – Nairo Quintana– Polka Dot Jersey
Young Rider - Nairo Quintana– White Jersey
Team Classification - Team Tinkoff Saxo
Combativity Award – Christophe Riblon
The key milestones and winners in 2012
General Classification – Bradley Wiggins– Yellow Jersey
Points Classification – Peter Sagen– Green Jersey
Mountains Classification – Thomas Voeckler– Polka Dot Jersey
Young Rider – Tejay Vangarderen– White Jersey
Team Classification – Radio Shack-Niassan
Combativity Award – Chris Anker Sørenson
Definitions
Yellow Jersey
- Leader of the race with the lowest accumulative time through the stages.
Green Jersey
- The leader on points. The points are gained through sprint sections.
Polka Dot Jersey
- Worn by the 'king of the mountain' the rider with the most points through on the designated climbs.
White Jersey
- Given to the rider who is under 26 with the lowest accumulative time
So who's your money on? Check out our tips here or and get the rest from the Tour de France here.
