The first ever Women’s Tour will start today, with two of the five stages coming through Suffolk and north Essex.
The international race - which is the first of its kind in Britain and is sponsored by Friends Life - will see top riders such as Marrianne Vos and British Olympians Laura Trott, Dani King, Lizzie Armistead and Joanna Rowsell compete as 16 different teams go head to head. The five day race will take place over five stages between Wednesday, May 7 and Sunday, May 11, with Suffolk and Essex hosting stages three and five on May 9 and May 11 respectively.
On May 9, the third stage of the race will start in Felixstowe, moving through Brightwell, Little Bealings, Kesgrave and Ipswich, before passing out through Holbrook and Freston, crossing the border into Manningtree and finishing in Clacton.
Then on May 11, the fifth and final stage will set off from Harwich, crossing into Suffolk and racing through East Bergholt, Hadleigh, Sudbury, Long Melford and Lavenham before arriving in Bury for the finish line on Angel Hill, Bury St Edmunds.
The event is organised by SweetSpot Group – a sports events and marketing company, which was behind the successful revival of the Tour of Britain in 2004 after a five-year absence.
Free bike checks are being offered to Suffolk residents as part of a series of roadshows taking place across the county in the build up to the Women’s Tour.
The roadshows, which started on Monday and will run until this Friday, May 9, give people the opportunity to have their bikes checked over and have any minor repairs carried out by the county council’s road safety team.
The roadshows will be taking place at the following dates and locations:
May 6 at the Market Place in Hadleigh
May 7 at Cornhill in Ipswich
May 8 at Sudbury shopping centre
May 9 at Angel Hill in Bury St Edmunds
For more on the event, click here
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