Stage Five of the Tour of Britain 2021 will be finishing in front of our famous Golden Gates on Thursday 9 September.

It is the first time that Warrington has served as a host venue for the event. In addition to showcasing our town as a cycling destination, the Tour of Britain brings a fantastic opportunity to promote to our community the many benefits getting on a bicycle can have, from living healthier lives and helping with our wellbeing to caring for our environment. It will bring huge benefits to Warrington, boosting the local economy, bringing an influx of visitors, elite cyclists coming through the town and showcasing our sporting credentials to a global audience.

We also want to ensure that being a host venue serves as a catalyst for inspiring many more local people to take up cycling.

What is the Tour of Britain?

Relaunched in 2004 after a five-year absence from the calendar, the Tour of Britain is British Cycling’s premier road cycling event, held annually across eight days in September.

The free-to-watch sporting spectacular features Olympic, world and Tour de France champions, and attracts a roadside audience of over 1.5m spectators. Live coverage of the race is shown daily in the UK on ITV4, in addition to around the world. The Tour of Britain is part of the UCI ProSeries, making it one of the most prestigious events in the sport’s global calendar.

From the very start of the day to ending with the battle for the stage win, find out how the event is delivered and how the racing unfolds out along the route by visiting tourofbritain.co.uk.

How you can get involved

There is more information about how communities can get involved with the Tour of Britain on the ToB website.

A great way to get behind the Tour of Britain and show your support is to get the whole community involved. Use bunting, flags, banners – maybe even a land art creation – to make your town memorable for the riders as well as showcasing your town for all the TV viewers across the world!

Cycling for everyone

Warrington is perfect for cycling because it's relatively flat and compact. Most places are close and easy to get to by bike, and with a vast network, you could make up your own route or follow one of our suggestions.

Why not join a group, go on an organised ride or take part in an event? With cycle routes galore and signs to keep you on the right track, there are lots of ways you can get involved and take up cycling in Warrington. For more information, visit our cycling page.
 

Tour Village

We have teamed up with both the Tour of Britain organisers and local events company Runthrough to create the Tour Village, which promises to be a sporting and cultural extravaganza for people of all ages. It will be the ideal place for people to enjoy the day, with plenty of activities on offer and the opportunity to watch the Stage finish unfold, as excitement will build for the sprint to the finish line in front of the iconic Golden Gates.

With something for everyone at the Tour Village, people will be able to soak up the atmosphere and excitement of the day by heading down to Bank Park, where the showpiece Stage 5 finish will end.

Spectators can also enjoy all of the action from Stage 5 of the race by watching a giant screen which will be set up at the Tour Village.  With the first traditional sprint finish of the Tour finishing right outside the Golden Gates, spectators can look forward to some excitement from big names including the greatest sprinter of all time Mark Cavendish, supported by team-mate and reigning UCI road world champion Julian Alaphilippe. 

It all gets underway at 11am until 4pm.

Stall holders on the day include:

  • Ron Spencer Cycles
  • RunThrough
  • British Cycling
  • Tarmac
  • British Cycling
  • North Cheshire Clarion
  • SIPs mobile bar
  • The Little Green Juice Box
  • Penguin Cakes
  • Hyacinth Vintage Ice Cream
  • The inclusive cycling network, Wheels For All, with adapted bikes and support to get people cycling, whatever their needs
  • Warrington Disability Partnership
  • Directions For Men cycling support group
  • Livewire and Culture Warrington, who will be hosting a range of games and activities
  • Warrington Cycle Museum
  • Cheshire Cycles, Dr Bike Shop
  • Active Cheshire and Bikeright, with a smoothie bike machine and kids obstacle course
  • Torus Housing
  • Tika Tonga
  • Jubel


The Tour Village will also have a set of showcases, including:

  • Mountain bike show displays at 11.30am, 1pm and 2.30pm
  • Circus performers at 1pm and 2pm
  • The Rugby League World Cup trophies
Download your ToB bunting and posters!
Schools

We want to ensure that being a host venue inspires the next generation -  local children -  to take up cycling. One of the highlights of the Tour of Britain is seeing thousands of schoolchildren line the route of each stage. The increased cycling profile that the Tour of Britain will bring to Warrington gives us a great opportunity to encourage children to get active and lead healthier lifestyles.

Ahead of the 2021 Tour of Britain have a look at the organiser's schools information pack, which provides you with all of the information you need to get your school involved and ready for the race.

Businesses

The event is an opportunity for local businesses on the route to celebrate and embrace cycling as the race comes past your doors, as well as maximise business opportunities from increased customers and visitors. For more visit tourofbritain.co.uk/community/local-business-information.

Why not decorate your business frontages and let staff line the route on the day of the event? Or if possible, let colleagues come to the Town Centre to view the finish area.

A number of roads will be closed between 2pm and 4.30pm that may impact on your business operations, visitors to your site, deliveries, staff start and finish times etc. Ensure that you consider any impact on your business and make arrangements with your suppliers and others that may be planning to visit your site on the day.

Please note that Sankey Street and some of the surrounding roads will be closed from 5am with the section of Liverpool Road to Sankey Street closed from 1pm.

Competitions

Calling all cyclists, communities and Warrington businesses – here’s your chance to win exclusive prizes in the run up to the Tour of Britain!

Businesses

To get involved, all you have to do is send a photo of the official Tour of Britain poster in your business window and you could be in with a chance of winning a prize, including two VIP tickets to the hospitality area at the event village at Bank Park on race day.

Residents
Have you tried one of Warrington’s many cycle routes yet? Send a photo of yourself using one of our cycle routes and you could be in with a chance of winning. Prizes include a chance to ride to the stage 5 finish line, a six month LiveWire membership or goodie bags – including top of the range D lock, bike lights, cycle maps and adult cycle training sessions.

Best dressed street
Working in collaboration with the Warrington Guardian, we are launching a ‘best dressed street’ competition. This is a great way to get behind the Tour of Britain, show your support and get your neighbourhood involved and decorate your street. Use bunting, homemade flags and banners – maybe even a land art creation – to showcase Warrington’s ‘best dressed streets’ to millions of TV viewers across the world. You may even be featured in the Warrington Guardian!

Email your pictures to newsdesk@guardiangrp.co.uk or tag your photos on the Warrington Guardian’s Facebook page – facebook.com/warringtonguardian.

To take part in the business or resident competitions, simply tag your photos on the council’s Facebook page – facebook.com/warringtonbc or Twitter account, @WarringtonBC – or email them to events@warrington.gov.uk. The closing date for entries is Friday 3 September and winners will be notified on Monday 6 September.

Land art competition

The Tour of Britain’s National Land Art competition is a fantastic way to get involved and show your support for Britain’s biggest professional cycle race every September.

Communities, schools, clubs, businesses, land owners and farmers come together to install eye-catching creations in support of Britain’s most prestigious international cycle race that always proves popular with the worldwide television audience.

Entries for the 2021 competition are now open - visit tourofbritain.co.uk/community/land-art for more information.

Spectator information

Attending the 2021 Tour of Britain? Be sure to plan ahead and get the most out of your day.

If you're lining the route please ensure you stand back from the kerb edge in a safe location, don't stand on the road or have anything that overhangs the kerb edge. This will ensure the safety of both spectators and the riders.

Where to park

There are lots of council run car parks you can choose from or there is a useful map showing all town centre car park locations, both council and privately owned. 

Cycle to the finish line from around the town

Road closures

Because of the nature of the event, a rolling road closure will be enforced. This means that roads on and around the race route will have a no parking restriction on them from 9am in the morning to 4pm to ensure that there are no obstructions for the safety of the riders.

A number of roads will be closed between 2pm and 4pm. Other roads along the route will be closed for a shorter period to allow the race to pass by – usually for approximately 20 minutes before the lead riders arrive – and then for approximately the same time again to allow the riders and race convoy to pass. Once the convoy has passed roads will be reopened, although it is likely that there will be major delays.
 

Full stage 5 route

Departing from outside Alderley Park’s Glasshouse, riders will take in a route through the grounds before arriving at kilometre zero. While the route through Cheshire includes three ŠKODA King of the Mountains climbs – located at Blacky Bank, Bottom-of-the-Oven and Bakestonedale Road – stage five could see the first traditional sprint finish of the 2021 Tour.

Stage 5 timetable

Stage 5 timetable (PDF)

Olympics

We're delighted that the following Olympic hero's will be with us at the Stage 5 finish of the Tour of Britain and will be presented with the OLY pin.

The OLY pin is part of the World Olympians Association’s popular post-nominal letters initiative that awards Olympians with the OLY designation after their names in recognition of the years of hard work it took to become an Olympian.

 

Gaynor Willis (Stanley) OLY

Los Angeles 1984

Swimming

Breaststroke 200m & medley plus 400m medley

Chris Arrowsmith OLY

Barcelona 1972

Canoe Slalom

Canoe Slalom, C2 event

Shirley Holloway (Stong) OLY

Moscow 1980 & Los Angeles 1984

Athletics

Athletics - 100m Hurdles

Alan Rapley OLY

Atlanta 1996

Swimming

Freestyle 4x100 relay

Louise Jukes OLY

London 2012

Handball

Handball

Matt Langridge MBE OLY

Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012 & Rio 2016

Rowing

Rowing - men's 8s

Spencer Duval OLY

Atlanta 1996

Athletics

3000m Steeplechase

Brian Adams OLY

Montreal 1976

Athletics

Athletics, 20km Race Walk

Pauline Janson OLY

Moscow 1980

Rowing

Women's coxed four

Martyn Woodroffe OLY

Mexico 1968

Swimming

100m, 200m Butterfly, 200m 400m medley & 4x100 medley relay

Rowena Birch (Sweatman) OLY

Atlanta 1996

Judo

Judo

Catherine Hyslop (White) OLY

Los Angeles 1984

Swimming

100m and 200m Backstroke

Louise Fraser OLY

Barcelona 1992

Athletics

Athletics 400m hurdles

Chris McDermott OLY

London 2012

Handball

Handball

Brian Girling OLY

Montreal 1976

Shooting

Rapid Fire Pistol

Abigail Irozuru OLY

Tokyo 2020

Athletics

Long Jump

Sara Parfett OLY

Tokyo 2020

Rowing

Women's eight

Linda Kay (Gornall) OLY

Los Angeles 1984

Cycling

Road Race - Individual

Ethan Vernon OLY

Tokyo 2020

Cycling

Men's Team Pursuit

Maria Porter (Blower) OLY

Los Angeles 1984 & Seoul 1988

Cycling

Road Race - Individual

Lou Collins (Stuart) OLY

Seoul 1988

Athletics

200m

Joslyn Hoyte-Smith OLY

Moscow 1980 & Los Angeles 1984

Athletics

400m & 4x400m

Mike Miller

CEO World Olympians Association

   
Lucy Glover Tokyo 2020 Rowing  
Graeme Thomas Tokyo 2020 Rowing  

 

We're grateful for our event sponsors, including:

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RunThrough logo
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Ron Spencer Cycles logo
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Tarmac