The Tour of the Asher Valley, the five-day stage race that attracts professional and development teams from across the region, will include its first mountain-top finish next year. Organisers unveiled the route on Tuesday, confirming that the fourth stage will end at the top of the Cairnside climb in the Greyling Hills after 164 kilometres of racing.
The Cairnside road rises 6.8 kilometres at an average gradient of just over 7 per cent, with a steepest section of 13 per cent on the hairpins below the old quarry. It has been used as a mid-stage climb before, but riders have always descended into the valley afterwards. Race director Leonie Fairweather said a summit finish would make the general classification more open.
Changes elsewhere on the route
The race will start with a short time trial along the Harbourside Promenade in Wrenhaven before heading inland. A flat stage through the farmland of the lower valley is expected to end in a bunch sprint in Netherby, and a rolling day on the third stage takes in the gravel road between Tarnmere and Coldbeck, which organisers said would be swept and checked in the week before the race.
We wanted a race that a climber can win, but not one that is decided on a single afternoon. The final day still has enough in it to turn things round.
The closing stage returns to Wrenhaven for eight laps of a circuit around Kestrel Park. Ms Fairweather said 20 teams had expressed interest in taking part, compared with 16 this year, and that the race would again include a women's event over three days using parts of the same roads.
Some residents of Cairnside have raised concerns about road closures on the day of the stage. The organisers said the road would be closed for about four hours, and that access for emergency vehicles and residents with mobility needs would be maintained throughout. A public meeting is planned for the village hall next month.
Local cycling clubs welcomed the news. Rory Danvers, chair of the Greyling Wheelers, said the climb was already popular with amateur riders and expected more visitors once the stage was announced. "People will want to ride it before the professionals do," he said.