A STAGE of a famous cycling event is coming to Pershore this year.

The town will be the scene of the potentially race-deciding stage when it hosts an individual time trial on day six of this year’s OVO Energy Tour of Britain.

The world’s best riders will tackle a 14.5-kilometre (nine mile) individual time trial that starts and finishes in the town on September 12, before passing through Little Comberton and Bricklehampton during a scenic anti-clockwise loop.

Pershore Councillor Charles Tucker said: "This is a great opportunity for the town after having had the tour here twice before.

"This time is different however as Pershore is the focus, so whereas before you would have a convoy of cars with bikes on and police outriders, then some cyclists whooshing through and another phalanx of cars, taking all of 45 seconds, this time the town is the start and end point.

"The town will be the centre of activity and it will be great for the town's businesses and tourism industries with people saying 'I must come back to this lovely little town'

"Elsewhere, it will be great for all the villages around Pershore that the route passes through and the communities of those villages.

"Getting the tour here is all down to the hard work of the officers of Wychavon District Council and to the cycling clubs who helped make it possible."

The stage is the third of its kind to be held in the OVO Energy Tour of Britain in as many years, following equivalent stages in Bristol and Clacton-on-Sea.

The Tour of Britain, which has been running since 1945, attracts riders from across the world each year.

Last year's winner was France's Julian Alaphilippe.