THE eagerly awaited Tour of Britain will pass through local villages culminating in a Stage 5 sprint finish at Warrington’s historic Golden Gates, on Thursday, September 9.
Spectators can look forward to the tour taking in villages such as Stockton Heath and Appleton travelling over both the Manchester Ship Canal and the River Mersey, as it heads towards potentially the first traditional sprint of this year’s tour. Stage five will finish with a rapid straight flat run outside of the town’s iconic Grade II listed Golden Gates, which have been in place since 1895. For more details visit warrington.gov.uk/tob.
Rescheduled to 2021 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 17th edition of the UK’s most prestigious stage race (Sunday 5-12 September) includes two full stages apiece in both Wales and Scotland. Twelve of the start and finish host venues are new to the eight-day event, which will cover 1,320 kilometres (820 miles) of racing.
The race will go ahead subject to local conditions and in line with relevant national COVID guidelines and UCI protocols.
Cllr Russ Bowden, Leader of the Council said: “Excitement continues to grow for the Tour of Britain 2021 and it’s fantastic to see the plans falling into place and the route being unveiled to the public.
“We believe hosting stage 5 of the race brings many opportunities – bringing new visitors to our town, celebrating sporting excellence and showcasing the very best of Warrington.
“These latest announcements demonstrate once again the specular route for this year’s Tour of Britain. I am very proud that Warrington is part of this providing us with major prestigious addition to our sporting calendar for everyone to enjoy.”
Cllr Hans Mundry, cabinet member for transportation, highways and public realm said: “We’ve set out our clear ambitions through our local transport plan to reduce car reliance and build sustainable transport into all aspects of life in Warrington.
“This includes major investment in our cycling infrastructure to encourage many more people to move around the town on a bike. The Tour of Britain gives us a fantastic opportunity to inspire many more people to take up cycling and to show the huge benefits it can bring – as a sport, as a hobby or simply as a fantastic sustainable mode of transport.”
Cllr Paul Warburton, cabinet member for statutory health and adult social care, said: “Everybody knows the reputation of the Tour of Britain as UK’s cycling most prestigious event, watched by spectators from all over the world. However what’s equally important is the events focus on communities, including working with local people and school children to understand the huge health benefits cycling can bring.
“We will be maximising this impact to encourage people to get active and build cycling into their everyday lives. The huge health and wellbeing benefits this will bring will be an important legacy of Warrington hosting this event.”
Potentially the first traditional sprint of this year’s Tour, the stage will finish outside of the town’s Grade II listed Golden Gates, which have been in place since 1895.
With cycling enjoying a boom in the UK, and hundreds of thousands of new and returning cyclists taking to two wheels, partnership opportunities for brands looking to be associated with Britain’s biggest professional cycling race are available. These unrivalled opportunities range from regional level support of individual stages to jersey and title sponsorships. Visit sweetspotgroup.co.uk/sponsorship-opportunities for more information.