WITH the Tour of Britain less than a month away from returning to Cumbria's roads, streets and hills, reporter Tom Murphy joins one of the country's best teams as they scope out the route and also looks at the massive economic boost the race will bring to the county's coffers.

THE summit of Hartside Pass, in the picturesque Eden Valley, sits 1,904ft above sea level and affords magnificent views across the Solway Firth to Scotland and towards the Lakeland fells.

In exactly 28 days time it will also provide a leg-burning, lung-bursting finale for Stage Five of the Aviva Tour of Britain as some of the world's top cyclists power up to Hartside Top Café.

After a gruelling 160km ride from Northumberland, even for professional cyclists, a winding climb up the pass is the last thing they want to see.

I joined four cyclists from the JLT Condor team as they made a gentle ascent of the pass on Tuesday, for the first time, in preparation for next month's event.

Starting at Melmerby, the eight-kilometre climb is long and at race pace will provide a significant challenge to push cyclists to the limit.

Speaking at the official launch event of the Cumbrian stages of this year's tour on Tuesday, JLT Condor team manager John Herety said: "It will be a tough course. The fact it finishes up here will be hard on the riders after a long day. It will bring the best ones to the fore.

"For us the only opportunity we have to win this stage is to get in a breakaway pack earlier on before Hartside."

On Thursday September 10, the stage leaves Prudhoe and travels west to Brampton, down through Lazonby and alongside the northern edge of Ullswater to Penrith.

The eight day race, Britain's premier road cycling event its largest annual free-to-watch sporting spectacular, then passes through the village of Melmerby before the slog up Hartside Pass.

Excitement is already building in towns along the route as yellow bikes adorn the side of the road to welcome the riders.

And while the race brings the feel-good factor to the county, it also has huge implications for its wallet.

The last time the Tour was in Cumbria in 2013, an economic impact study showed that it brought in more than £4m to the local economy.

The finish at Kendal alone brought in more than £500,000.

Alongside stage five, the tour will also take in Cockermouth, Maryport and Carlisle on the way to Floors Castle in Kelso, a market town in the Scottish Borders, two days earlier on stage three.

Cllr Geoff Cook, vice-chairman of Cumbria County Council, said the county could benefit to the tune of around £8m from the two days.

"It is absolutely wonderful that Cumbria has been chosen to feature again," said Cllr Cook, who represents Kendal Highgate on the authority.

"It is a chance to showcase the county's different landscapes and will hopefully lead to more people coming here to explore in whatever way that may be.

"One time cycling just did not seem to be attracting such an audience but it has taken off over the last few years."

Headlining the 20-team list are Team Cannondale Garmin, who won the 2014 Tour of Britain with Dylan Van Baarle and the Etixx Quick-Step team of Mark Cavendish and World Champion Michal Kwiatkowski. Top level British interests are represented by Team Sky.

Three squads, ONE Pro Cycling, co-owned by former England cricketer Matt Prior, Team WIGGINS, the personal team of Sir Bradley Wiggins, and Cult Energy will make their Aviva Tour of Britain debuts.

"This is undoubtedly the strongest line-up of teams to have appeared in the Aviva Tour of Britain," said race director Mick Bennett.

"The Aviva Tour of Britain presents a fantastic opportunity for British fans to see what will be the best line-up of teams and riders to race in this country this year."

The official posters for this year’s Cumbrian stages – with specially-commissioned artwork from the illustrator Will Barras - were also unveiled this week.

The posters are being sent to shops and public buildings along the route to build excitement ahead of the race and will also be available for sale on the day.

The race takes in eight stages in total, from the start in North Wales to the finish in central London.

With a history traceable back to the 1950s, the Tour of Britain has existed in various guises over the years, with the modern edition being revived in 2004 by British Cycling and current organisers SweetSpot Group, after a five-year absence from the global cycling calendar.

It is now a cornerstone of the sporting year and is most welcome in Cumbria.