A prestigious women's cycling tour, which was due to finish with a final stage from Haverhill to Felixstowe, has been postponed until autumn.

The Women's Tour, part of the ICU Women's World Tour, has been organised by the SweetSpot Group and was set to come to Suffolk between June 7 and 12, with the opening stage in Bicester, Oxfordshire.

The race attracts an annual roadside audience of 300,000, as well as more than three million fans watching on screen.

Now, the group is working with the ICU and British Cycling to re-arrange the event for October 4 to 9 instead.

Councillor James Reeder, Suffolk County Council cabinet member for public health and prevention, said: “Whilst it is disappointing to hear that the race has been postponed until later in the year, I can completely understand why this decision has been taken by the race organiser SweetSpot.

East Anglian Daily Times: Councillor James Reeder is Suffolk County Council Cabinet member for Public Health and PreventionCouncillor James Reeder is Suffolk County Council Cabinet member for Public Health and Prevention (Image: Suffolk County Council)

“The council fully supports their decision given the challenging situation with coronavirus in the UK at present.

"The health and safety of all communities, competitors and partners involved in a such well-attended public event must be the priority and we look forward to putting on a fantastic spectacle with SweetSpot and all our partners later in the year.”

The postponement follows news at the start of February that SweetSpot are working with Eurosport and the Global Cycling Network to produce live TV coverage of the race for the first time in 2021.

Councillor Letitia Smith, East Suffolk Council’s cabinet member for communities, tourism and leisure, added: “We completely support the decision to postpone the Women’s Tour until later in the year.

"This continues to be a challenging time, and it goes without saying that the health and wellbeing of participants, spectators and – of course – people in general remains the number one priority.

"This will give us something to look forward to, and no doubt all our communities and businesses will be as supportive and celebratory as ever, if not more.”

The organisers will announced full details of the 2021 route in the summer once alternative dates are confirmed and continue to look for a headline sponsor.