Tour of Britain Cycling comes to the East Midlands
WORLD class cyclists will take to East Midlands’ roads on Friday 3 September to compete in a British cycling competition set to rival the Tour de France.
The East Midlands route of the Tour of Britain was unveiled today at a press launch at Pride Park in Derby. Starting in Bakewell the cyclists will race through Matlock, Matlock Bath, Wirksworth, Carsington, and Ashbourne before re-joining the A6 at Belper and following it into Derby. Once in Derby the route will take the cyclists through Five Lamps and past the front of the Council House. From there the route continues through Ashby de la Zouch, Loughborough, and Leicester before finishing in Nottingham.
The East Midlands leg is around 120 miles in total and includes four intermediate sprints and three King of the Mountains competitions. The event is free to all spectators.
The Tour of Britain starts in Manchester on Wednesday September 1 and will finish in London on Sunday September 5. Sixteen teams of six riders will contest the five-day stage race which will be broadcast by the BBC on Grandstand.
The East Midlands Development Agency, emda, managed to negotiate with the organisers to ensure that the route came through the East Midlands and is sponsoring the region’s leg of the race.
The Tour of Britain was last held in 1999 but it dates back 30 years. It was previously known as the Milk Race and the Kellogg’s Tour. For information on the Tour of Britain go to www.tourofbritain.co.uk