Tomorrow morning elite female cyclists will be powering through Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich and onto Aldeburgh as they compete for the yellow jersey in the first stage of The Women’s Tour 2015.
The race gets underway at the Angel Hill, Bury St Edmunds at 11am and the riders are expected to cross the finish line at Market Cross, Aldeburgh at around 1.50pm.
The first stage is 110.2km, or 68.5 miles, long and after doing a circuit around Suffolk’s biggest market town, the cyclists will head out of Bury St Edmunds towards Thurston, south to Bradfield St George and then across to Stowmarket before eventually heading south.
Queen of the Mountain challenges take place at Bell’s Cross, near Claydon, at around 12.20pm and at Church Common Snape, at around 1.25pm.
These are both good spots at which to try and see the race as the cyclists’ pace will slow slightly.
Another exciting element is the sprint sections, the first takes place outside Kesgrave High School, in Main Road, Kesgrave and the riders are expected to pass this stretch at around 12.50pm.
This is an ideal place to watch as the long, straight nature of the road means you can see the cyclists for some time.
The second sprint takes place just 15 minutes later as the cyclists pass the Coach and Horses, in Melton Road, Melton.
From here the cyclists will head north, passing through the corner of Tunstall Forest, to Snape and then north to Saxmundham.
The route passes through Leiston before reaching the finish in Aldeburgh.
There will be a series of rolling road closures in place to allow the cyclists to safely race through the county.
Angel Hill in Bury St Edmunds will be closed from the junction with Northgate Street to Crown Street until 4pm tomorrow.
And the following roads will be closed from 6pm tonight until 11.59pm tomorrow.
• Aldringham Cum Thorpe - Thorpe Road, Aldeburgh Road and Remembrance Road
• Aldeburgh - Market Cross Place, Dial Lane, Victoria Road and Wentworth Road
Parking will be suspended on the following roads until 4pm today:
• Bury St Edmunds- Angel Hill, Chequer Square
• Bury St Edmunds - Crown Street, Honey Hill and Sparhawk Street
Parking will be suspended on the following roads until 11.59pm tomorrow.
• Woodbridge - St Johns Street, New Street, Theatre Street, Market Hill, Seckford Street and Church Street
• Woodbridge and Melton - Melton Road and Melton Hill
• Leiston - Waterloo Avenue
•Aldeburgh - Market Cross Place, Dial Lane, Victoria Road and Wentworth Road
Stage two of the race starts in Braintree town centre on Thursday morning - with riders setting off at 10am.
The winding route crosses back into Suffolk and then trhough some of Essex’s most picturesque villages before heading towards the coast and the Clacton finish line.
See a route map for stage two here.During Stage Two of the race, on-road parking will be suspended prior and during the event in the following locations:
• Sudbury - Bulmer Road, Ballingdon Street and Newton Road
• Boxford - Broad Street and Ellis Street
• Hadleigh - Gallows Hill, Bridge Street, High Street and Benton Street
• East Bergholt - The Street
For full coverage, including live updates throughout the race tomorrow, team news, and route maps, see our Women’s Tour page
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