The Women's Tour hopes to inspire Suffolk and Essex to get cycling
The Tour will be coming to Essex and Suffolk as part of Stage 5 and 6 of the event next month.
Last updated 18th Sep 2021
The organisers and racers in The Women's Tour hope they can inspire people in Suffolk and Essex to get cycling.
It comes as the county's prepare to welcome some of the world's best female cyclists to our region for the penultimate and final legs of the tour next month.
They will race from Colchester to Clacton on the Friday, before taking on the Haverhill to Felixstowe leg to reach the finish line.
Jonathan Durling, one of the organisers of the tour says the roadside crowds are central to the event: "The chief reason we are doing this to inspire children to get out of their bike and get active. If we can do this through the tour, that's a big tick in our box.
"During the women's race there seems to be an even bigger connection between those on the street and those taking part in the race
"The crowds are unbelievably excited this year, because of course there's effectively been a two year break from this race.
"To see something come through their village or town seems to be getting people more excited than ever. In about three weeks time, I think we'll look back and think we've inspired a lot of people to do a lot of good things."
Clover Murray, a professional cyclist from Frinton says she hopes the races will inspire other women to start peddling: "One of things I enjoy, is seeing women getting on their bikes. Over the last few years, I'm seeing more and more women take to the road- which is really great to see."
Graham Newman, Councillor for Felixstowe Coastal says the annual event brings lots of positives to the area: "It's a huge benefit on an economic front, because its bringing more people to Suffolk. There's huge interest in Cycling and this has definitely grown over the last few years. The Tour is also helping to generate interest and inspiring people to get active- which is great."
The Women's Tour kicks off on the 4th October and arrives in our region on the 8th.