Climbs and sprints announced for Devon Stage of The Tour

Devon County Council has announced more details of the Devon Stage of this year’s Tour of Britain.

Stage Six of this year’s Tour on Friday 20 September will start in Sidmouth and finish at Haytor in Dartmoor National Park, as the race celebrates its tenth anniversary.

Devon will be making history by hosting the first ever summit finish in the modern era of the race.

But the 96 world class riders will also face two other gruelling SKODA King of the Mountains climbs between Starcross and Telegraph Hill as well as Six Mile Hill on Dartmoor.

There will also be fast-paced action at the Yodel Sprints which will be held outside Blundell’s School in Tiverton and in Exeter High Street. One other intermediate Yodel Sprint is also still to be confirmed.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highways, said: “We’re expecting this year’s Devon Stage to be the biggest ever as we celebrate 10 years of the modern era of The Tour. There’s no better way to mark the occasion than by achieving a first in hosting a mountain-top finish at Haytor.

"We’re always pleased to welcome back The Tour to Devon – it’s a real community event that shows off everything that’s good about our county. With this year taking in the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site at Sidmouth, as well as Dartmoor National Park, countless market towns and Exeter City Centre, it will provide a great showcase for Devon.”

The route will cover around 85 miles (137 km) of the county and will take in communities including Honiton, Tiverton, Exeter, Moretonhampstead, and Bovey Tracey before the challenging climax in Dartmoor National Park.

It will be the seventh consecutive year that The Tour will have raced through Devon. In that time it has brought in more than £21 million to the local economy and given the county a worldwide TV audience. Last year, generated more than £7.3 million in Devon in a record breaking year which saw Devon rider Jonathan Tiernan Locke win the IG Gold jersey as he became the first Briton to win the race overall.

Among the world class teams confirmed to be competing in the 2013 Tour so far are Sky Professional Cycling Team, Omega Pharma - Quick-Step, Garmin-Sharp, Vaconsoleil DCM, and Cannondale.

For more information on The Tour of Britain, visit: www.southwesttourofbritain.co.uk and www.tourofbritain.co.uk and on Twitter follow @SWTourofBritain.