VISITORS coming to Ambleside for the Tour of Britain cycle race will be able to watch the entire day’s action from a giant screen in the town centre.
Ambleside Together has arranged for live screening of the event throughout the day in the grounds of the University of Cumbria campus.
Cycling fans who want to see the racers in action on the most dramatic section, the ascent of The Struggle from Ambleside to the Kirkstone Pass, will be able to watch the early stages and the subsequent action on the screen without leaving the town.
The Tour is Britain’s premier road cycling event and Glasgow will host the Grand Depart of the opening stage of the eight-day race on Sunday September 4. After the opening stage finishes in Dumfries and Galloway's Castle Douglas, the cyclists will head for Cumbria on Monday September 5, racing from Carlisle to Kendal.
Live coverage on the screen in Ambleside will start at 9.45am and continue throughout the day till 4pm.
“We were very excited to learn that the Tour was coming through the town, and thought that this would be a great way to help cycling fans enjoy the whole day,” said Ambleside Together treasurer Wendy Rainer. She and the committee arranged for the screen to be in place with grant funding from South Lakeland District Council.
According to the race organisers, the day’s racing starts from Carlisle at 10.45am. It is estimated that the leading cyclists will go through Pooley Bridge at 11.50am, Cockermouth at 13.18pm, Keswick at 13.47pm, Grasmere at 14.17pm, Rydal at 14.24pm, Ambleside at 14.26pm (Smithy Brow 14.28pm), top of The Struggle (Kirkstone Pass) at 14.35pm, Cook's Corner 14.45pm, Plumgarth’s roundabout at 15.01pm, and finishing uphill at Beast Banks, Kendal, at 15.05pm.
“We are very pleased to be working with the University of Cumbria in providing this great facility for visitors and local residents,” said Mrs Rainer.
Ambleside Together, which launched the popular Love Ambleside campaign following the winter floods, is also organising the country’s first Festival of the Fells which will be held in the town from September 22-25. For more details see http://www.loveambleside.uk/festival-of-the-fells/
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