Hopes Tour of Britain will inspire cycling uptake

The Gloucestershire stage of the Tour of Britain will inspire the next generation of local cyclists.

That is what leaders at Gloucestershire County Council hope will be among the lasting legacies of this year’s race.

Stage six of the tour will start on September 9 in Tewkesbury and go through, Bishop’s Cleeve, Winchcombe, Chedworth, Cirencester, Tetbury, Yate, Wotton-under-Edge, Dursley, Uley and Stroud before finishing in Gloucester.

On average, the net economic benefit of hosting a stage of the Tour of Britain since 2016 has been worth £3.5m to venues. And just under 5million people watched the Tour of Britain and Women’s Tour in the UK in 2021.

In 2021, 60 per cent of fans were inspired to ride more after the Tour of Britain and Women’s Tour.

And environment and planning cabinet member David Gray (C, Winchcombe and Woodmancote) hopes it will again encourage more people to take up cycling.

“Some of the benefits of hosting a stage of the tour are unquantifiable. There is an immediate direct benefit that people will come into the county and will watch the tour.

“And then there’s the kick on benefit of the tour which highlights what a great county we have and we hope they will stay and book their accommodation. The big TV audience for events like this will see Gloucestershire and what a beautiful county that we have. So it helps build interest in coming and visiting Gloucestershire.

“That’s before you put a value on the active travel side of it that we want to be promoting. Cycling is a great way to get around our county so there’s a tangible benefit there.

“Although it’s hard to quantify in terms of how many children standing by the roadside are inspired by seeing the race come through to pester their mum and dad for a bike, I do think these big sporting events do inspire people to take up sport.

“They do impact people and have a positive effect. It’s not only the physical benefits but also the mental health benefits that come with exercising in the open air. The women’s race was fantastic to watch and the men’s race is going to be every bit as good.”

More than 100 riders will be racing and 18 teams have been confirmed to be riding the 2022 Tour of Britain, with five teams who rode the Tour de France attending, including the top British team Ineos Grenadiers.

By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter

Gloucester News Centre – http://gloucesternewscentre.co.uk