Cycling competition The Tour Series is due to return to the narrow cobbled streets of Durham. On the night of Saturday May 27th, top cyclists will be whizzing around our historic city centre as they compete in the penultimate round of the contest.
The Tour Series – a televised series of city centre races organised by Sweetspot, the team behind the Tour of Britain – is now in its ninth season. The Durham leg of the competition is being put on by Sweetspot and Durham County Council.
The council’s cabinet member for leisure, libraries and lifelong learning, Cllr Maria Plews, said, “The Tour Series is a fantastic event that in previous years has brought thousands of people out onto the city’s streets, contributed hundreds of thousands of pounds to the city’s economy, and helped raise our profile regionally, nationally and internationally.”
“With the race this year moving to a Saturday Night, I hope to see many more families taking the opportunity to discover how the hard cobbled climbs, narrow streets and tight corners of our medieval surroundings make for some superb sporting action.”
“And I hope by welcoming some of the top riders in Britain to compete on what has traditionally been one of the Tour’s toughest courses, it will also help to inspire more people in County Durham to saddle up and improve their own health and wellbeing.”
Riders from seven professional men’s teams will compete in what will be The Tour Series’ ninth, and second to last, race just two days before the end of the season.
When The Tour Series visited Durham last year, thousands of people lined the route to witness riders reaching speeds of up to 50 kilometres per hour. The route includes South Street, Cross Street, Grove Street and Margery Lane.
Last year’s race was won by the Welsh cyclist Jon Mould, from the JLT Condor team. Harry Tanfield, a young rider from the north east, finished second.
Race Director Mike Bennet, of Sweetspot, said, “Fans can look forward to some amazing racing from these top class athletes, as The Tour Series continues to provide an unparalleled platform of action, entertainment and engagement.”
For more information, please go to www.tourseries.co.uk.
