After months of planning – and a year of delay thanks to the pandemic – Cornwall will finally make history when it hosts the Tour of Britain’s first start this weekend.
Cyclists from all over the world gather this Sunday in Penzance for the start of the annual international cycling race.
Mark Cavendish has been announced as the first headline racer for this year’s Tour of Britain and is driving for the Belgian team Deceuninck-Quick-Step for this year’s event.
The ‘Grand Depart’ takes place at 11am in Penzance and cyclists battle for first place on the winning line throughout the day as the first stage winds 180 miles from Cornwall and ends in Bodmin on Sunday afternoon.
The race then continues over a further seven stages through Devon, Wales, Cheshire and Cumbria to Edinburgh and ends in Aberdeen on September 12th.
The annual Tour of Britain is Britain’s premier professional multi-stage cycling race and the country’s largest open-air public event. It will be broadcast live on ITV4 and Eurosport to at least 500,000 viewers and will also be broadcast nationwide on BBC Radio 5 Live and local broadcasters.
To watch the riders fight for the King of the Mountain, the locations are Zennor, Rosewall Hill and Carnon Downs. The locations for the sprint will be Hayle and Penryn.
n A map showing the route for the first leg of the Tour of Britain in Cornwall
Here is some advice on how to get the best view:
• Spectators are advised to use existing off-highway cycle paths, especially at the heavily frequented start and end locations Penzance (from Marazion) and Bodmin (via the camel path).
• For cars there is a special park-and-ride service for the finish in Bodmin next to the rugby club (directly on the A30). And there are the usual summer season park and ride facilities for Newquay and Falmouth, as well as the permanent Truro park and ride service.
• In areas where public parking is allowed, parking spaces are provided according to the “first come, first served” principle.
• Where the current traffic and parking regulations could endanger the safety of spectators and drivers, parking restrictions will be introduced on the street. You may be asked to move your car when using on-street parking near the circuit. This is part of a sequence of no-parking zones or “light paths”. In some areas, alternative parking options are being considered and informed about this in advance of the event.
• For both the start and the destination, people with special needs have easy access to the route. Appropriate attempts will be made for those with access needs, and areas will be allocated to allow wheelchair users an unobstructed view of the race by.
• There will be huge TV screens in Penzance and Bodmin so everyone can see what’s going on. Live TV and radio coverage, as well as aerial photography, will attract a global audience.
n Two of Cornwall’s elite cyclists are joining Penzance Town Council and Cornwall Council for the Tour of Britain countdown
The currently estimated times of when riders will enter each area on their route through Cornwall – and when rolling road closures will apply while cyclists are passing through – are shown below.
These are approximate times calculated from an average speed of 40 km per hour and vary depending on the performance of the leading drivers and the overall field of the day.
These include a number of “key moments” in the race that are likely to be some of the busiest for viewers.
This is the starting point on the Penzance Western Promenade, where cyclists start the race at 11 am, then at 11:48 am in Zennor for the first King of the Mountain, 11:54 am on Rosewall Hill for the second King of the Mountain and 12:10 pm Watch at Hayle for the first sprint.
The second sprint will take place at Penryn at around 1:28 p.m., followed by the third King of the Mountain at Carnon Downs at 1:38 p.m. The first day of racing ends in Bodmin at 3:30 p.m.
Race times:
11.00 a.m. – Penzance West Promenade – START
11.28 a.m. – St. Just
11.30 a.m. – Botallack
11.33 a.m. – Pending
11:37 a.m. – Morvah
11.48 a.m. – Zennor 1st King of the Mountain
11:54 a.m. – Rosewall Hill 2nd King of the Mountains / St. Ives
12:02 p.m. – Carbis Bay
12.06 p.m. – Lelant
12:10 p.m. – Hayle 1st sprint
12:19 p.m. – Gwithian
12:29 p.m. – Barripper
12:31 p.m. – Camborne
12.41 p.m. – Redruth
12.48 p.m. – Penhalvean
12:52 p.m. – Stithians
1:01 p.m. – Longdowns
1:04 p.m. – Mabe / Burnthouse
1:08 p.m. – Falmouth
1:14 p.m. – Swanpool Road
1:17 p.m. – Castle Drive, Falmouth
1:28 p.m. – Penryn 2nd sprint
1:34 p.m. – Perranworthal
1:38 p.m. – Carnon Downs 3rd King of the Mountains
1:46 p.m. – Truro
1:53 p.m. – short lane end
2 p.m. – Zelah
2:15 p.m. – Newquay
2:24 p.m. – Quintrell Downs
2.43 p.m. – St. Stephan
2:53 p.m. – St. Austell
3 p.m. – Bodelva Street
3.15 p.m. – bugle
3:24 p.m. – Lanivet
3.30 p.m. – Bodmin – FINISH