Thousands of spectators are expected to watch stage five of the Tour of Britain as it finishes on Royal Avenue, in front of the iconic Royal Crescent in BAth, on Thursday 8th September.
Stage Five will begin in Aberdare at 11am and is expected to arrive in Bath and North East Somerset at around 3.30pm, having crossed South Wales and Gloucestershire.
Around 120 of the world’s top professional cyclists will be racing on the A431 through Kelston and onto Newbridge Hill, cycling across the top of Chelsea Road and down onto Upper Bristol Road.
From there they will go past Windsor Bridge and Royal Victoria Park’s children’s play area before sweeping left up Marlborough Lane and on to the finish line on Royal Avenue, at around 3.30pm.
Royal Avenue will be turned into a Cycle Village for the day, with activities and entertainment, and TOBi, the Tour of Britain mascot, expected to make an appearance.
The Cycle Village will be open from 10am to 4pm and include a giant TV screen showing the race live from 1pm. There will also be circus skills workshops, mountain bike displays, accessible bicycle fun, competitions, food and drink stalls and more.
Premier sponsors Bristol Airport and KLM will be giving away goodies throughout the day, and will also be announcing the winners of their competition to win around the world flight tickets.
Marmot Tours, gold sponsors, will be giving spectators the chance to win a £500 holiday voucher in the Cycle Village, and silver sponsors BMI Bath Clinic will also be offering free blood pressure and BMI checks along with sports injuries advice from their physiotherapy team.
Over 150 children from schools across the area are expected to take part in cycle races, on Royal Avenue, from 11 am to 12.30 pm. Westfield business Dickies have donated 200 t-shirts for all the school-children taking part.
Local youth cycling club, Sulis Scorpions, will be put through their paces by British Cycling’s Italian Pursuit competition, from 1 pm to 2 pm.
Councillor Martin Veal (Conservative, Bathavon North), Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Services, said: “This is going to be a very exciting day for Bath and North East Somerset, with Olympic gold-medallists Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish expected to race through our area.
“We expect to welcome thousands of spectators from near and far. There really is something for everyone at the Cycle Village, so please come early and enjoy the entertainment, ahead of the main excitement of the race to the finish line.”
For more information, visit: www.bathnes.gov.uk/tourofbritain.
