The leader of Felixstowe town council is looking forward to welcoming the prestigous Women’s Tour event to the coastal town.

Felixstowe town mayor Graham Newman said: “It’s a prestigious event to be able to bring to Felixstowe.

“I’m delighted to wave it off at this stage.

“I think it recognises our importance on the world’s stage. Felixstowe is the biggest port in Great Britain and a lot of trade circulates through this town and it’s wonderful to open the stage.

“I hope the town benefits from the tour.”

Mr Newman said that there were one or two subsidiary events planned too, including a veterans’ bike ride.

He added that a number of schools were sending representatives down to cheer on the cyclists too.

He said: “I hope it brings a renewed interest in cycling. If we’re going to change the world we need to do it through children.

“We all have safety considerations but cycling’s no more dangerous now then what it used to be.

“The more people that cycle, the less dangerous it becomes.”

Mr Newman also said that it’s not only the tour riders that can cycle through Suffolk.

He said: “Felixstowe is a nice place to cycle.

“We’re pulling together a network of cycle routes in the town, it’s quite extensive.

“We’re part of national cycle route 51, and we’re chipping away at extending the network.”

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