In spite of changeable weather conditions, a large crowd in Kelso on Saturday witnessed Britain’s Cat Ferguson take victory in Stage 3 of this year’s Lloyds Tour of Britain Women.
This was the first UCI WorldTour event to be held in Scotland.
Challenging route
The 143km route started and finished on the town’s cobbles and took in two passes of the climbs of Scott’s View and Dingleton. Melrose featured twice on the route, as well as a lightning fast decent into Jedburgh off Dunion Hill.
Images from the race and activities in Kelso are available from our Flickr page.
Councillor Scott Hamilton, Executive Member for Economic Growth and Developing the Borders
“The Scottish Borders stage was designed by the organisers to be the most testing of the race, and the fantastic route and changeable weather conditions certainly challenged the riders.
“Although the weather was less than ideal for spectators as well, it was really pleasing to have a good-sized crowd in Kelso throughout the day, including lots of young riders taking part in the cycle skills sessions in The Square. Thank you to all those who came out to support this event.
“With just a small investment from the Council and the support of EventScotland we’ve been able to bring yet another world class event to the region and showcase the area to a large audience.
“Hopefully we’ve inspired those watching the race coverage from afar to come and see our beautiful Scottish Borders and also encouraged local people to get back on a bike or cycle more frequently.”
Outstanding support
Once again retailers in Kelso got creative in their support for town events, with dozens of creative window displays. Crabtree & Crabtree was judged the winner of the window dressing competition run by ourselves, winning a radio advertising package.
The South of Scotland has been recognised by world cycling’s governing body as being a UCI Bike Region, due to the commitment to not just elite cycling but cycling for all.
We to invest in not only supporting cycling events but also introducing and improving cycling infrastructure, contributing to the South of Scotland Cycling Partnership’s goal of embedding cycling in the daily lives of residents and the experiences of visitors.