Sporting soprano Laura Wright will perform in Bury St Edmunds the night before a major women’s cycle race starts in the town, and will also ride the route on the day.

The 24-year-old, from Framlingham, will open the team presentation event at the Women’s Tour on the evening of June 16 ahead of the start of Stage One, from Bury to Aldeburgh, on June 17.

The team presentation, at Charter Square, will give spectators the chance to see each of the 16 competing teams presented to the crowds, hear the riders interviewed as well as meeting the star names for photographs and autographs.

Miss Wright, who is the official anthem singer for the England rugby union team, will perform a couple of tracks from her nationwide tour and latest album Sound of Strength before the first team appears on stage at 5.30pm.

As a SportsAid ambassador, she will also present funding awards to local athletes at the event.

Then the next day – Miss Wright’s birthday – she will ride the Stage One route for SportsAid, alongside her three brothers, before the world’s top female cyclists start racing from Angel Hill at 11am.

Members of the public will be given the chance to apply for one of eight places to take part in the ride with her.

She said: “I’m really excited about performing at the team presentation and cycling the same route as the professionals on the morning of the race in aid of SportsAid. It promises to be a fantastically memorable occasion.

“When I agreed to become an ambassador for SportsAid I wanted to do something practical to raise money to support the fantastic work that the charity does to help talented young sports people overcome the financial challenges they face.

“Cycling stage one of the Friends Life Women’s Tour will be gruelling but will be really worthwhile if it raises money for the charity.”

The presentation event on June 16 will come at the end of an afternoon of events and activities in Bury.

A full schedule of the day’s events, including when each of the 16 world-class teams will be on stage between 5.30-7pm, will be published at the end of May.

To apply to cycle alongside Miss Wright visit www.sportsaid.org.uk