Estimated times: Tour of Britain Devon stage
Devon will be beamed live to a worldwide TV audience when the Friends Life Tour of Britain races through the county on Thursday 11 September.
The race will again be broadcast live on ITV4, with ITV showing the opening Stage One from Liverpool.
The Devon Stage, hosted by Devon County Council and sponsored by South West Highways, will be Stage Five of this year’s Tour, covering 110miles (177km) of the county.
It will start in Exmouth and finish in Exeter. The route includes three Skoda King of the Mountains climbs at Mamhead, Haytor, on Dartmoor, and Stoke Woods/ Pennsylvania Road on the outskirts of Exeter. There are also YodelDirect Sprints at Powderham Castle, Chudleigh and Crediton.
Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highways, said: “The Tour always provides us with a great platform to showcase Devon at its best. The route again takes in some of county’s most scenic coast, countryside and moorland and finishes in the heart of Exeter. The aim is that some of the millions of people watching at home will want to pay us a visit to see for themselves what Devon has to offer.”
Councillor Iain Chubb, Cabinet Member for Environment at East Devon District Council, said: “It’s exciting to note that an audience of many millions will glimpse the outstanding landscapes of East Devon as the race passes from Exmouth to Budleigh Salterton and on to Woodbury, Topsham and Exeter. It’s even more fitting that our stunning stretch of the Jurassic Coast, which is England’s only natural World Heritage Site, should be beamed to audiences worldwide. There’s only one thing better than viewing our scenery on a screen – and we look forward to seeing visitors of all nationalities experiencing East Devon at first hand in the months that follow”.
Councillor Rosie Denham, Exeter City Council’s Lead Councillor for Economy and Culture, said: "Once again the eyes of the world will be on Exeter for what I am sure will be a thrilling conclusion to Stage 5. Last year, people from the city turned out in their droves and with this year’s Stage finishing in the High Street I’m sure there will be an electric atmosphere in Exeter."
In 2013, The Tour was shown in 166 countries worldwide to almost 290 million homes. This year will be the eighth consecutive year that The Tour has visited Devon. Over the past seven years more than a million people have watched the race in Devon along the various Stage routes around the county, with a record 250,000 spectators at the roadside last year. It has brought in around £27 million to the local economy, with almost £5.9 million of that generated last year.
The 2014 Friends Life Tour of Britain will start in Liverpool on Sunday 7 September and finish in London with an individual time trial and a circuit race on Sunday 14 September.
For more information go to www.southwesttourofbritain.co.uk and www.tourofbritain.co.uk.
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Devon Stage - Stage Five (Estimated Times)
Start - Exmouth Strand 11:00
Yodel Sprint - Kenton 11:56
SKODA KOM - Mamhead (Cat.2) 12:04
Yodel Sprint - Chudleigh 12:24
SKODA KOM - Haytor (Cat. 1) 12.34
YodelDirect Sprint - Crediton 14:58
SKODA KOM - Stoke Woods (Cat.2) 15:19
Finish - Exeter High Street 15:26
