Tour of Britain to return to East Anglia in 2015

The Tour of Britain will reportedly head back to East Anglia next year, with the race due to head through both Ipswich and Norwich, reports the Eastern Daily Press.

The region had hosted the race for three years in a row from 2010 to 2012, generating £3.5 million for the area in the final year, but has not featured in the past two editions.

The news follows the revelation last week that between them, the Lancashire councils of Pendle and Ribble Valley are paying £190,000 between them to host a stage.

Devon, which has hosted a stage in each edition for a number of years, has already been confirmed as not featuring in next year’s race.

Active Norfolk director Ben Jones said: “We’re really excited at the prospect of the Friends Life Tour of Britain returning to Norfolk in 2015, it’s always a spectacular and entertaining event.

“It’s another fantastic opportunity to show people from around the country and beyond that this is a fantastic place to visit, and we have shown that we can deliver high-profile sporting events which will guarantee incredible support from communities across the county.

“We look forward to raising that profile even further next year.

“We’re hopeful that we can use events such as the Tour as a platform to raise the profile of sport and physical activity in Norfolk, to make people more aware of the dangers of being physically inactive, and to inspire individuals and communities to join us inraising levels of participation across all ages and in every corner of Norfolk.”

A spokesman for Norfolk County Council added: “In previous years the Tour of Britain has brought significant economic investment into Norfolk and proved to be a hugely popular event, so the route returning to the county is a huge boost to Norfolk residents and businesses alike.”

The stage was won by Sky’s Luke Rowe, whose then team-mate Mark Cavendish – riding his final race in the rainbow jersey of world champion – crashed with around 2 kilometres remaining.

In 2010, HTC-Columbia's André Greipel won the sprint in Great Yarmouth in a stage that began in King's Lynn, while 2011 saw Gediminas Bagdonas of An Post-Sean Kelly win a stage from Bury St Edmunds to Sandringham.