Cycling heroes Wiggo and Cavendish back in the saddle in Reigate this Sunday (From Redhill And Reigate Life)

Cycling heroes Wiggo and Cavendish back in the saddle in Reigate this Sunday

8:31pm Monday 10th September 2012 in Local News

Olympic cycling hero Bradley Wiggins and world champion Mark Cavendish will both be back in the saddle and in Reigate this Sunday (September 16).

Local cycling fans will be able to cheer on the Team GB pair riding as part of Team Sky in the Tour of Britain, the UK's largest professional cycling race.

The Tour, now in its ninth year, features 100 of the world's and Europe’s best cycling teams competing on British roads.

And the eighth stage of the prestigious event - the final leg usually held in London - will this year start instead in Reigate's Priory Park.

The race is officially set to start at noon, although pre-race entertainment and activities will start in Priory Park from 10am.

A small arena will be set up with local performing groups, there will be a spider-web climbing frame and bouncy slide, local club activities including boxing, gymnastics and cycling will be on show, and food stalls will be set up.

There will also be the chance for people to meet the cyclists taking part in the Tour, get autographs and take pictures.

Big crowds are expected to line the route of the race from Reigate to Guildford High Street in scenes reminiscent of those seen during the London Olympics, when the men's and women's road races and time trial events entered the borough on a circuit taking in Box Hill.

A spokeswoman for Reigate and Banstead Borough Council said the event was another great opportunity for residents to witness world cycling heroes in action on their own doorstep.

Like the Olympics, the Tour is also expected to provide a welcome boost to the local economy.

The spokeswoman said: “The Tour of Britain is the UK’S largest professional cycling race and regarded as a major cycling event within the international cycling season, and a mainstay of the British sporting calendar.

“The Tour of Britain is set to ensure the enthusiasm set by the London 2012 Games leaves a lasting cycling legacy in the county.”

She said: “Surrey County Council signed a two-year deal with SweetSpot - who have successfully delivered the Tour of Britain since 2004 - to host a stage of the Tour of Britain in 2012 and 2013, which means the race will go through Surrey again next year.”

The event will go through a number of towns and villages using rolling road closures, including Dorking, Shere, Send, Dunsfold and Godalming, with each section of road closed for a maximum of 30 minutes.

For more details visit the event website: www.tourofbritain.com