Suffolk to host Grand Depart of the 2012 Tour of Britain

Continuing with all of the excitement and achievements of Team GB at the Olympics, Suffolk is proud to host the first stage of the Tour of Britain, known as the ‘Grand Depart’. This great British sporting event is expected to attract thousands of spectators as it passes through the county on the 9th September.  This is the first time that the cycling event has commenced in East Anglia and will be the longest stage of  the Tour of Britain route, at 199.6 kilometres. 

The race departs from Ipswich, then travels north through some of Suffolk’s most traditional and picturesque towns and villages, including the historic riverside town of Woodbridge. Moving swiftly through the countryside, the race will pass Snape Maltings, home to the world famous Concert Hall, before entering the historic seaside towns of Aldeburgh and Thorpeness. The tour will pass through the Suffolk Coast & Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), an organisation that Suffolk Secrets supports, before continuing on to Southwold.  Finally as the Tour approaches the border into Norfolk, it passes through Lowestoft  and Oulton Broad - the southern gateway to the Broads.

To celebrate their sponsorship of the Suffolk and Norfolk stage,  Southwold brewer Adnams, has produced its own “King of the  Suffolk Mountains” cycle jerseys to celebrate the event. It is hoped that the Tour of Britain will boost an interest in cycling locally and nationally, following the Olympic successes of Team GB, in particular “Mr Sideburns” himself, Gold Medal winner Bradley Wiggins. The 2012 Tour of Britain will take place between Sunday 9th and Sunday 16th September 2012.