Organisers of the Pearl Izumi Tour Series cycling event have confirmed that Durham City will feature in this year’s race calendar.
The event, now in its eighth year, will take place at 10 different venues between Thursday 12 May and Thursday 9 June.
The series will see six top British professional cycling teams, and possibly some local guest teams, competing in the challenging town and city centre races, which begin in the Isle of Man and end in Portsmouth.
Organisers SweetSpot have confirmed that the Durham circuit, with its tough cobbles and climbs, will feature in round six of the series on Tuesday 31 May.
Last year’s event brought a significant boost to the local economy, with spectators spending an estimated £281,310 during the event.
In total the race attracted 12,500 spectators and a report commissioned by SweetSpot showed that 82 per cent were from outside of Durham and that 17 per cent of those visitors booked overnight stays in the city.
The report showed that groups who stayed overnight spent an average of £107 during the event and those who visited just for the day spent an average of £52.
Cllr Maria Plews, Cabinet member for leisure, libraries and lifelong learning at Durham County Council, said: “We’re delighted to welcome back the Pearl Izumu Tour Series to the streets of Durham.
“This will be the seventh consecutive year that Durham has hosted the event, which offers an exhilarating experience for both cyclists and spectators as well as bringing a welcome boost to the local economy.”
The Pearl Izumi Tour Series is unique in world cycling, focussing on a team concept that see’s Britain’s professional cycling teams competing to be the fastest in an action packed, one-hour circuit race.
Highlights of every round are screened on ITV4 and available on demand via the ITV Player.