| 25 March 2009 |
| PETERBOROUGH PICKED TO HOST HIGH PROFILE CYCLE RACE |
Peterborough has been chosen as one of 10 cities across the UK to host a high profile cycle race featuring international sports stars.
Fifty professional cyclists will battle it out around a 1.4km course through the city centre and past the Town Hall, reaching speeds of up to 30mph.
The event is expected to attract up to 10,000 people into the centre of Peterborough to witness the thrills and spills of top level cycling as competitors more used to the Olympics, World Championships and Tour de France compete for the coveted winner’s jersey.
Called Tour Series Peterborough, the race is being staged by SweetSpot, organisers of the Tour of Britain and UK stages of the Tour de France, with support from Opportunity Peterborough and Peterborough City Council, and will offer an opportunity to showcase the city’s attractions to the nation with coverage on ITV4.
Trevor Gibson, Environment Capital director at Opportunity Peterborough, said: “The Tour Series presents a unique opportunity for Peterborough to play to its strengths and raise its profile nationally and internationally.
“The race will be one of the highlights of this year’s Green Festival with a whole range of cycling focussed community activities building up to the main event. This is a major strand of our approach to creating the UK’s Environment Capital. “
Ten teams of five cyclists will do about 30 laps of a circuit which starts outside the Town Hall passes through Cathedral Square, up Church Street and Cowgate and left at the roundabout down Bourges Boulevard and left into Bridge Street again. Lasting about an hour, the race starts at 7pm on Thursday June 4.
The event falls in the middle of Green Festival week and city organisers are planning a series of associated events that may include local cycle club races, team mascots and children’s races to create a carnival atmosphere.
Peterborough City Council leader Councillor John Peach said: “This event provides an excellent opportunity to showcase Peterborough to a national audience. It will promote the city’s reputation as a location that is taking positive action to encourage economic growth despite the impact of the recession.”
Some roads will be closed including Cowgate and one side of Bourges Boulevard while the race is underway and vehicles will not be able to access the area inside the race route. Some street furniture and signs will need to be removed for the day and a temporary road surface installed at the corner of Bourges Boulevard and Bridge Street.
The Tour Series is a new addition to the international cycling calendar, with races on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting in Milton Keynes and ending in Southend five weeks later.
Just days later on June 6 and 7 Peterborough will host the fifth and sixth rounds of the British Cycling National BMX series. More than 500 riders from across the country will compete for points towards the National Series Title. This follows the success of the 2008 British BMX Championships in the city.
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