News: Felixstowe stage start for The Women’s Tour

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Felixstowe and the Suffolk Coastal District will host the start of Stage Three of the new-for-2014 Women’s Tour it has been announced.

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And they’re off – Suffolk Coastal’s chairman Cllr Peter Bellfield, puts Councillors TJ Haworth, Alasdair Ross and Alan Goggin under starters orders for Stage Three of The Women’s Tour.

Stage Three to Clacton-on-Sea to begin on Suffolk Coast
Day Three of the five-day race will take riders from Felixstowe to the previously announced finish in Tendring at Clacton on Friday 9th May. “This is great news for Felixstowe. A lot of hard work has gone on behind the scenes to attract this prestigious event to the area. Hopefully it will prove to be a massive boost, not only to Felixstowe but the entire District,” said Cllr TJ Haworth, Suffolk Coastal District Council’s cabinet member with responsibility for Customers, Communities and Leisure.

“Cycling is increasingly high profile and has seen a massive growth in popularity as a participation sport in recent years. Having Stage Three of The Women’s Tour starting in Felixstowe, then going through Suffolk Coastal, will put us in the spotlight, attracting national and international media, as well as cycling enthusiasts from across the country and, through the link to the continent via Harwich, will open the event up to cycling fans from the heartland of competitive cycling, such as Holland, France and Germany.

“This event allows us to support our aim of encouraging people to have healthier lifestyles, while giving the tourist industry and profile of Felixstowe and the surrounding area a much-needed boost, opening the town up to a new audience and new type of tourist. We hope the start of Stage Three in Felixstowe will be a real community event, involving the local schools and other organisations.”

It was announced last month that Stage Three of The Women’s Tour would conclude in Clacton. Tendring and Suffolk will also host a second leg of The Women’s Tour two days later, with the final stage of the race going from Harwich to Bury St Edmunds on Sunday 11th May.

“We are pleased to be able to confirm Felixstowe as a part of the 2014 route,” said Guy Elliott from The Women’s Tour. “We look forward to working with all of our partners across Suffolk and Essex to make both Stages Three and Five a success and a real draw for spectators from the Continent.”

Alan Goggin, Cabinet Member for Tourism at Tendring District Council, said that everyone at Tendring is delighted that Felixstowe and Suffolk Coastal are on board for Stage Three.

“It should be a fantastic stage for the riders and spectators alike and we now have two legs of the race where we are linking up with our Suffolk neighbours,” he said.
“This will be a great economic boost for both Districts and The Women’s Tour can be assured of a very warm welcome.”

Exact details of the route for Stage Three are still being worked upon, but it is likely to leave Felixstowe and snake across Suffolk Coastal, go through Ipswich, then head down through Essex to Clacton.

Ipswich Borough Councillor Alasdair Ross, Deputy Portfolio Holder Culture and Leisure, said, “We are resuming – and expanding – our partnership to bring more top cycling to the people of Ipswich and Suffolk. We are fast becoming a leading centre for cycling and I very much look forward to this event.”

The Women’s Tour will take place over five stages between Wednesday 7th and Sunday 11th May, beginning in Northamptonshire with an opening stage from Oundle to Northampton.

Leicestershire, Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire will all host subsequent stages in the event, ranked at the 2.1 level by the UCI, the sport’s governing body.

 

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