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National race bikes in to NE

The UK’s biggest bicycle race is returning to the North East next month.

Organisers of The Tour of Britain unveiled the 160km race route which will begin in Darlington and end in Gateshead on September 13.

Hugh Roberts, Chief Executive of The Tour of Britain said: “We are extremely pleased to be bringing the 2009 Tour of Britain back to the North East for a second time.

“Our partners from NewcastleGateshead and Darlington Council have provided us with the confidence that Stage 2 from Darlington to NewcastleGateshead will be a challenging one for the riders and at the same time an exciting one for all the spectators.”

Stella Hall, Creative Director of culture10 at NewcastleGateshead Initiative said: “Following the success of last year’s Tour of Britain, I’m delighted to announce, together with lead authority Gateshead Council, the return of the annual blue riband cycling event to the North East.

“The Tour of Britain is one of the biggest events in our culture10 sports programme and it attracts significant numbers of visitors to the region.”

Gateshead Council cycling champion Cllr Gary Haley said: “British cycling seems to be on a bit of a high at the moment so there couldn’t be a better time to have Britain’s top cycling event right here in Gateshead, and it’s bound to generate even more interest in cycling generally.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .