New cycle race in South Lincolnshire

CiCLE Classic race director Colin Clews.

The Bourne CiCLE Classic will see professional road races for men and women, plus a Sportive event and time trial, over the weekend of August 31 and September 1.

South Kesteven District Council’s Visitor Economy team is organising the event and working with professional cycle event organisers including Colin Clews, responsible for the Rutland/Melton CiCLE Classic, to stage the event.

The routes, totalling 175 kilometres for men and 114 kilometres for women riders (one of the longest women’s races on the UK calendar). will take riders through villages close to Stamford, Market Deeping and Grantham and will include historic Grimsthorpe Castle.

Coming at the end of the season, it is a golden opportunity for riders to justify their selection for the following week’s Tour of Britain and the World Championships in Yorkshire.

Clews, a former international cyclist, is the creator and Race Director of the CiCLE Classic events, most notably the UCI listed Elite Men’s International Rutland/Melton CiCLE Classic which has run since 2005 and is Britain’s longest established single day international cycle road race.