Nottinghamshire will be welcoming the Tour of Britain as it travels through the county in September. Organisers of the cycling event have now revealed which towns and villages will see competitors pass through.
The 116 mile fifth stage of the event comes to Nottinghamshire on September 8 after four years away. The race will start at 10:45am on Central Avenue in West Bridgford and finish sometime between 3 and 3:50pm on Chesterfield Road South in Mansfield.
On its way to the finish line, the route passes through several towns and villages including East Leake, Radcliffe-on-Trent, Calverton, Southwell, Retford and Worksop. Competitors will also ride along the recently opened £49 million Colliery Way road (Gedling Access Road).
Read more: Tour of Britain returning to Nottinghamshire and will make use of new £49m bypass in Gedling
The Tour of Britain will take in some of Nottinghamshire famous landmarks from Trent Bridge cricket ground to Sherwood Forest and Clumber Park. Sprints will take place along Main Street in Edingley, on London Road just after Bracken Lane coming into Retford, and Clumber Park.
The day will also see competitors take on Skoda's King of Mountain climbs at Wysall Lane as the competitors enter Keyworth and Sparken Lane leading out of Worksop.
Councillor John Cottee, Cabinet Member for Communities at Nottinghamshire County Council and divisional ward member for Keyworth, said: “With just over a month to go until some of the world’s top road cyclists come to Nottinghamshire, the announcement of the timings as well as the locations for the sprints and King of the Mountains are another milestone in the countdown to the return of the Tour of Britain to our county.
“Excitement really is stepping up a gear in the towns and villages the route passes through – and even more so where the sprints and King of the Mountains competitions take place. I personally cannot wait for my own village of Keyworth to give the Tour riders a huge welcome as they compete for the King of the Mountains section of the race along Wysall Lane.”
Keyworth Parish Council Chair, Cllr Tamsin Armour, described the news as ‘fantastic’ and says she is looking forward to the national and international spotlight being shone on the village as it was in 2018. She said: “It will be fabulous, and the village will get together like it did four years ago when the race came to Keyworth.
“There were some amazing things which happened last time; children decorated bicycles which were displayed in all the shop windows, people knitted little cycling jerseys which they then stitched together and sent to Children in Need – a wonderful end to the whole thing.
“Last time people decorated their houses along the route, there was bunting and bright yellow bikes across the village. It was a really good day with people out in the middle of the village; it was great for the shops and there was a good sense of community here.
“If I’m honest, apart from the way we pulled together through Covid, it was the best sense of community I’ve felt in this village since I’ve been involved with the Parish Council. It was a superb day. It was a really great village experience and it’s so exciting that we’ve got the King of the Mountains, that’s going to brilliant. I hope it will be challenging for the cyclists!”
Estimated timings for when cyclists are due to reach and leave each borough and district are given below. These times are estimates based on a tolerance of +/- 20 minutes, with several factors, including weather conditions on the day, potentially having an effect on race speed.
- Rushcliffe – 10.45am-12.10pm
- Gedling – 12.10pm-12.50pm
- Newark and Sherwood – 12.50-1.40pm and 2.40-3pm
- Bassetlaw – 1.40-2.40pm
- Mansfield – 3-3.26pm
An interactive map and full timetables for Nottinghamshire is available here.
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