Tour of Cambrigeshire is the first fully closed road UCI Gran Fondo and UCI Time Trial Event. It is unlike any other mass participation event in the UK. Uniquely the event caters for everyone whether you are an elite racer, an athletic sports rider, a challenge rider, or just out to test yourself in a more leisurely way on your bike, on closed roads, around the stunning Cambridgeshire countryside.
General
Peterborough is a Cathedral City with a population estimated to be 203,600 of which 137,910 were residents in the urban area of the city. It is the largest city in Cambridgeshire and the 27th largest in the United Kingdom, situated 75 miles (121 km) north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea approximately 30 miles (48 km) to the north-east.
The local topography is flat and low-lying, and in some places lies below sea level, for example in the Fens that lie to the east of Peterborough.
Housing and population are expanding and a £1 billion regeneration of the city centre and immediate surrounding area is underway. In common with much of the United Kingdom, industrial employment has fallen, with a significant proportion of new jobs being in financial services and distribution.
Historically Peterborough played an important role in the establishment of parliamentary democracy and has a number of local ties to King Henry VIII with one of his former wives being buried in the Cathedral. Mary Queen of Scots was executed in Fortheringhay, one of many beautiful local villages, in 1587. More recently, railway lines began operating locally during the 1840s, but it was the 1850 opening of the Great Northern Railway’s main line from London to York that transformed Peterborough from a market town to an industrial centre with particular focus on engineering and construction. Today Peterborough is recognised as the Environmental Capital of the UK.
Road race
More information later.
Time Trial
Start and finish of the time trial will be orchestrated in the Peterborough Showground and Arena (PAS) with to major expo and logistics to give the best available quality for all participants. PAS can be found 10km west of the city center.
The course will go out in the country side for a big loop of 16 miles to come back on the same road towards PAS to finish.
Lodging
Peterborough is a major stop on the East Coast Main Line, 45–50 minutes journey time from central London, with high-speed intercity services from King’s Cross to Edinburgh Waverley operated by the East Coast Main Line Company at around a 20-minute frequency, and slower commuter services terminating at Peterborough operated by Great Northern. It is a major railway junction where a number of cross-country routes converge.
The A1/A1(M) primary route (part of European route E15) broadly follows the path of the historic Great North Road from St Paul’s Cathedral in the heart of London, through Peterborough (Junction 17), continuing north a further 335 miles (539 km) to central Edinburgh.
Peterborough is also accessed from the East by sea ports specifically Felixstowe and Harwich and within one hour we have airports at Stansted, Nottingham, Doncaster, Luton and Heathrow in London.
