Tuesday saw further details of the second stage of The Women’s Tour being unveiled, with the help of Harriet Owen and Burbage Junior School in Hinckley.

The second stage of the Women’s Tour for professional cyclists will surge through parts of the Leicestershire countryside during its second stage in May, it has been confirmed.

The stage will see the line-up of world-class sportswomen start from Hinckley at 11am on Thursday 8th May.

The elite field will then cover 118.5km passing through Enderby, Cosby, Broughton Astley and Lutterworth before travelling into Northamptonshire on its way to the stage finish in Bedford.  You can find further details of the route here.

Eleven of the world’s top 14 teams are now confirmed for the event, including reigning World and Olympic champion Marianne Vos.

And the field will also include Leicestershire’s Lucy Garner, the double junior World road-race champion who will lead a young GB national team through her home county.

Lucy Garner said: “It means a lot to me that The Women’s Tour is coming through Leicestershire. I have lived and ridden on these roads my whole life and it’s exciting to know the world’s best riders will get to race and experience them.”

Peter Osborne, the county council’s Cabinet member for transport, said: “Now we know where the Women’s Tour is going, I’m sure people will start to plot where they can get a glimpse of the race.

“It is great news that such a prestigious event is going through the county and I hope people turn out in their thousands to support The Women’s Tour.”

As part of the build-up to the event, youngsters at Burbage Junior School welcomed elite cyclist Harriet Owen of the Matrix Vulpine team to the Grove Road school.

Harriet, of Matrix Vulpine, the sole British domestic team competing in The Women’s Tour, took part in a question-and-answer session with pupils, met year six youngsters and signed autographs as well as leading a short ride with some of the school’s pupils as a part of the Choose How You Move project.

Burbage Junior head Richard Harris said: “It’s great for the school to be welcoming Harriet and her success as an elite cyclist will I’m sure be an inspiration to many of the youngsters here who have taken bikeability cycling courses. They are all really excited about The Women’s Tour coming to the area.”