London's economy benefited by more than £120m by hosting the start of the Tour de France race, it has been announced.
Spectators, teams and race organisers spent an estimated £88m while media coverage generated a further £35m, Transport for London (TfL) confirmed.
Fans flocked to watch the opening ceremony, time trial and stage one on the weekend of 6, 7 and 8 July.
Organisers were paid £1.5m to hold the start in London. Talks have begun to see it return before the 2012 Olympics.
Despite embarrassing doping scandals surrounding the race, London's mayor is determined it should return to the city.
'Greatest start'
Mayor Ken Livingstone said: "The Tour has generated well over £100 million in spending and publicity, which will in turn attract more visitors and encourage the organisers of future sporting events to choose London."
London's transport commissioner, Peter Hendy, said: "We are working to bring the Tour back to London as soon as possible.
"The Tour organisers, media, riders and spectators said it was the greatest start the Tour had ever had."
Tourism also received a huge boost as 2m people lined London's streets over the weekend and another million watched the riders race through Kent on the first stage.
Interest in cycling also jumped as an estimated 48,000 more cycle journeys were made every day on London's major roads in the six months from April to September, a 10.5% increase compared with the same period last year.
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