It is less than 100 days until the Tour of Britain cycle race returns to the Scottish Borders, with Hawick set to host the start of the penultimate stage of this year’s race on Saturday 11 September
Joint work with local groups
We are working with business, tourism and community groups to maximise the benefits of hosting the event and our investment to bring it to the area again.
Councillor Mark Rowley, Executive Member for Economic Regeneration and Finance
“We know from hosting the Tour of Britain on seven occasions previously what a positive impact it can have on the host town so I’m delighted we are able to realise a long-held ambition to bring the event to Hawick.
“There has been a very positive reaction from within Hawick to the news that it will host the stage seven start and the enthusiasm from many individuals and community groups has already led to an initial meeting and the identification of three key areas in preparation for the event.
“The Council will continue to engage with those involved at a community level to ensure that by working together we absolutely make this the best event possible, showcasing the best of Hawick and the wider Borders as a fantastic destination for cycling and as a place to visit and explore.”
The three areas the local community has identified are:
- maximising economic benefit
- dressing the town
- Hawick Festival of Cycling
David Killean from Hawick Cycling Club is one of those involved at a local level and organised the initial community meeting with the ourselves and other interested local people and groups.
David Killean, Hawick Cycling Club
“Hosting the Tour of Britain gives Hawick a great platform, not just to promote itself to the rest of the UK and beyond, but also to encourage local people of all ages to take up, or get back into, cycling.
“Following the initial meeting, which generated lots of great ideas, three sub-groups are being established to take forward the workstreams and we’ll hopefully have lots of positive news and events to share over the course of the next 100 days before the Tour of Britain comes to town.”
The Borders has a proud history of hosting the Tour of Britain, most recently in 2019 when a full stage was held entirely within the Scottish Borders, with the stage start and finish in Kelso town centre.
Stage seven of the 2021 Tour of Britain will start in Hawick and finish in Edinburgh, with details of the full route to be announced in the summer.
Once again ITV4 will screen live coverage of every stage, along with highlights every evening, with many broadcasters from around the world also showing coverage.
About 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 sporting events in the sport’s global calendar.
Follow the Tour of Britain on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or via the event’s official website.