Events will make The Tour a celebration
Community events will be held in the days leading up to and on the day of the Friends Life Tour of Britain, to welcome Britain’s biggest free-to-watch annual sporting event.
The Devon Stage, hosted by Devon County Council and sponsored by South West Highways, will be held on Thursday 11 September. It will be Stage Five of this year’s race and 120 top professional cyclists will race the long way round from Exmouth to Exeter.
In the build up to the race in Exeter, the Double Locks will host a cycle social evening on Thursday (4 September) from 6.30pm onwards where free cycling information will be available. Exeter based cycle charity Ride On will be holding a bike jumble at its Haven Road HQ from 10am to 1pm on Sunday (7 September). The Travel Devon Roadshow and Dr Bike will be in Princesshay on Tuesday 9 September from 9am until around 5pm.
In Exmouth, on Monday (8 September) evening there will be a cycling pub quiz at The Grapvine in Victoria Road. On Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 September, Primary Schools in Exmouth will take part in a cycling relay event. On The Strand on Wednesday 10 September, the Travel Devon roadshow will be outside Spoken Café, from 11am to 5:30pm with Exmouth Cycles providing a free Dr Bike. Children are invited to “bling” their bike and take it along between 3pm and 5:30pm, and Earth Cycles will be hosting a variety of bike challenges. There will also be a Go Ride event for pupils from local schools, organised by CS Dynamo cycling club, from 6pm to 8pm.
On the morning of the Devon Stage, top British mountain bike trials rider Andrei Burton will be displaying his incredible bicycle skills on Exmouth Strand from 9:30am, and then in Bedford Square in Exeter later in the day. There will be promotional and information stands at both venues, including the Travel Devon roadshow. In Exmouth, there will be entertainment on The Strand provided by a cycling stilt walker. Leisure East Devon (LED) will also be providing cycling ‘spinning’ demonstrations and Have a Go sessions. Cycling England will be hosting Devon schools cycle races in Exeter High Street from 12noon to 1pm.
The professional riders on The Tour will be arriving in Exmouth from 9am before they set off from The Strand at 11am.
And it’s not just the start and finish venues celebrating the arrival of The Tour. Starcross is preparing a special welcome for the riders with its very own knitted Jersey Bunting, which after the race will be turned into blankets to be sent to Moldova.
Author and cycling correspondent for The Guardian, William Fotheringham, will be at Newton St Cyres Village Hall from 3pm-4:30pm on Saturday 13 September for a talk and book signing. Tickets cost £4. For more information email shop@creditoncommunitybookshop.co.uk or call 01363 774740.
Exeter Phoenix is hosting the popular One Gear Exeter bicycle film night with a selection of Fixed Gear short films on Tuesday 16 September. For more information go to www.exeterphoenix.org.uk/events/bike-film-night-2/
Exeter Picturehouse will be screening acclaimed documentary The Bicycle, directed by BAFTA winning Michael B. Clifford, on Monday 22 September. For more information go to www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema/Exeter_Picturehouse/
Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member with responsibility for cycling, said: “The community events really add to the occasion to make it a real celebration of cycling. Hopefully hundreds of thousands of people will turn out in Devon again to be part of this great event. The local economy always benefits from The Tour and these local events provide added entertainment which can help everyone make the most of their day.”
Councillor Iain Chubb, Cabinet Member for Environment at East Devon District Council, said: “The Tour is a real spectacle in terms of a prestigious sporting event that is coming to our doorsteps. But cycling is also about having fun and I’m delighted there are so many cycling-related fun events happening in the area that is hosting Stage Five. It’s shaping up to be a really exciting day for people of all ages, but especially the youngsters - so let’s make the most of this event and get them into all things cycling!”
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
For more information go to www.southwesttourofbritain.co.uk and www.tourofbritain.co.uk. On Twitter follow @SWTourofBritain or like our SW Tour on Britain Facebook page www.facebook.com/pages/Tour-of-Britain-South-West/93956718666?fref=ts
