Cycling heroes preview Devon stage of the Tour of Britain

Professional cycling stars past and present will help launch this year’s Devon Stage of the Friends Life Tour of Britain.

Chris Opie, of Rapha Condor JLT, and Dale Appleby, from NFTO Pro Cycling, will be joined by Devon based Olympian and former two-time British Road Race Champion Colin Lewis, on Friday (1 August), to check out parts of this year’s route and share their thoughts on the stage.

The Friends Life Tour of Britain will return to the county on Thursday 11 September, when the Devon Stage will start in Exmouth and finish in Exeter.

The Stage, hosted by Devon County Council and sponsored by South West Highways Ltd, will be Stage Five of the race and will cover 110miles (177km) of the county.

The route will take in a number of communities en route, including Budleigh Salterton, Woodbury, Topsham, Exminster, Starcross, Chudleigh, Bovey Tracey, Haytor, Widecombe in the Moor, Princetown, Tavistock, Okehampton, Copplestone, and Crediton.

Colin Lewis, who completed the 1967 Tour de France and still rides competitively at the age of 71, has helped develop professional riders over the years, such as Jeremy Hunt and Yanto Barker, through his role with Mid Devon Cycling Club.

He still holds the course record of 4 minutes 23 seconds for the Stoke Hill time trial, set during his professional riding years on a steel frame bike. The climb on the outskirts of Exeter will feature as the final Skoda King of the Mountains climb on this year’s Devon Stage.

The 114 riders on the Tour will also be tested by two other Skoda KOMs at Mamhead, and Haytor, on Dartmoor. There will be Yodel Direct Sprint points at Powderham Castle, Chudleigh and Crediton.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highway Management, said: “It’s fantastic to have Colin, Chris and Dale giving us their support for this year’s Devon Stage, and sharing their insight on the race. We were treated to a fantastic race in 2011 when the riders raced the other way from Exeter to Exmouth, and we’ll be hoping for more of the same in September. Hopefully people will take the opportunity to use the Exe Estuary Trail to see both the start and finish and enjoy a scenic cycle along the Trail.

"This year’s Devon Stage will be a chance to celebrate the Exe Estuary Trail, which is due to be completed later this year, and it will provide another showcase for our beautiful county as a premier destination for cycling tourism.”

Councillor Iain Chubb, East Devon District Council Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “Cycling’s a hugely popular spectator sport and we look forward to welcoming thousands of onlookers to this fabulous stretch of the Jurassic Coast as competitors ride from Exmouth to Budleigh Salterton on their way to Woodbury, Topsham and Exeter. Both visitors and TV viewers will glimpse East Devon’s many attractions and hopefully the stage will again have a positive impact on tourism. I also hope many residents will be inspired to take up cycling – which is a great fitness activity as well as a very watchable sport. East Devon’s lanes are often graced by clusters of recreational cyclists but there’s plenty of room for more – young and old – to explore our glorious coast and countryside on two wheels.”

Exmouth Mayor Bill Nash said: “I am delighted that we will welcome the Tour of Britain to Exmouth this September. It is an honour that the organisers of this great sporting event have chosen our town to host the start of the fifth stage of the race. It will be great day out for all the family as well as seasoned cycling enthusiasts – and a big draw for visitors. I hope that as many people as possible will line the route to cheer the riders on and make it an occasion for everyone to remember. Exmouth Town Council are also proactively involved in planning an all-day celebration of cycling on Wednesday 10th September to coincide with The Tour visiting Exmouth and numerous stalls and attractions will be in place in The Strand to promote local cycle groups and organisations.”

Councillor Rosie Denham, Portfolio Holder for Economy and Culture, said: “We’re so excited to have The Tour of Britain coming to Exeter again, especially as we’ll be hosting a dramatic finish down the High Street. The success of The Tour of Britain shows what an appetite there is for top-class cycling and it should be a brilliant day out for everyone. Exeter has a proud record of encouraging cycling and hopefully many of the people who come to enjoy the race will get here by bike.”

Mick Bennett, Race Director of The Tour of Britain, said: “In returning to Exmouth and Exeter we are re-treading the ground of one our most successful stages, which will bring back lots of happy memories of a memorable finish.  With the route around the Exe Estuary, across the Dartmoor National Park and into Exeter the stage is sure to be another spectacular day’s racing for spectators at the roadside, and fans at home watching on television. We look forward to more of the bumper crowds and great support that we receive every year in Devon, and are confident that this year’s Tour will give them even more to cheer about.”

It will be the eighth consecutive year that The Tour has visited Devon. Last year, record crowds of around 250,000 spectators watched the race from the roadside in Devon, generating almost £5.9 million of additional spending in the county. Over the past seven years more than a million people have watched the race in Devon along the various Stage routes around the county, and it has brought in around £27 million to the local economy.

This year’s Friends Life Tour of Britain will feature its biggest ever line-up of top tier UCI Pro Teams in the 19-team field, led by the likes of Team Sky, who won last year’s Tour with Sir Bradley Wiggins. Other teams taking part are Omega Pharma – Quick-Step, Movistar, BMC Racing Team, Tinkoff – Saxo, Garmin Sharp, Team Giant Shimano, and Belkin Pro Cycling. The full line-up of teams will be announced soon.

The 2014 Friends Life Tour of Britain will start in Liverpool on Sunday 7 September and finish in London with an individual time trial and a circuit race on Sunday 14 September.

For more information visit www.southwesttourofbritain.co.uk and www.tourofbritain.co.uk.

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