{"id":397096,"date":"2025-09-04T11:20:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T11:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/397096\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T11:20:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T11:20:15","slug":"hopes-tour-of-britain-can-bring-boosts-to-stowmarket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/397096\/","title":{"rendered":"Hopes Tour of Britain can bring boosts to Stowmarket"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n  Crowds braved the elements as wet weather lashed down in Suffolk for stage two,\u00a0which started and finished in mid Suffolk.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  The stage was won by Olav Kooij, who extended his lead after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eadt.co.uk\/news\/25435496.fans-express-disbelief-tour-start-woodbridge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">claiming victory on stage one in Southwold.\u00a0<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  <img   alt=\"Riders leaving Stowmarket for the start of stage two of the race\" style=\"width: 100%;\"\/>Riders leaving Stowmarket for the start of stage two of the race (Image: Lucy Taylor) <img   alt=\"Crowds watching on as cyclists travelling through Walsham le Willows\" style=\"width: 100%;\"\/>Crowds watching on as cyclists travelling through Walsham le Willows (Image: Lucy Taylor) Stage two took in both mid Suffolk and Babergh districts, visiting Debenham, Thurston and Sudbury before returning to Stowmarket.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  John Ward, leader of Babergh District Council, said: \u201cIt\u2019s been a brilliant day for Suffolk and our district.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cThere was great support along the route, and the televised race was a fantastic showcase of our beautiful landscapes, towns and villages.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cThis will have brought serious economic benefits too.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  <img   alt=\"Crowds awaiting the Tour of Britain in Stowmarket\" style=\"width: 100%;\"\/>Crowds awaiting the Tour of Britain in Stowmarket (Image: Lucy Taylor) <img   alt=\"The wet weather did not dampen people's spirits\" style=\"width: 100%;\"\/>The wet weather did not dampen people&#8217;s spirits (Image: Lucy Taylor) It is the first time two stages of the men&#8217;s race took place in the county.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  The event in Stowmarket marked the first time the mid Suffolk town hosted the event.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Colin Lay, lead member for Stowmarket on Mid Suffolk District Council, praised the &#8220;absolutely brilliant&#8221; atmosphere on the start line.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  He said: &#8220;I chatted with a diverse mix of people, from keen cyclists to families with children, all enjoying the vibe and trying out accessible bikes and balance trikes.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  <img   alt=\"People of all ages lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the world's best cyclists\" style=\"width: 100%;\"\/>People of all ages lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the world&#8217;s best cyclists (Image: Lucy Taylor) <img   alt=\"Cyclists speeding through Walsham le Willows\" style=\"width: 100%;\"\/>Cyclists speeding through Walsham le Willows (Image: Lucy Taylor) &#8220;It&#8217;s wonderful to see Stowmarket highlighted on the national stage as both the starting and finishing point, along with our lovely neighbouring towns and villages throughout Mid Suffolk and Babergh.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  <img   alt=\"Crowds made themselves comfortable as they awaited the cyclists to ride through Walsham Le Willows\" style=\"width: 100%;\"\/>Crowds made themselves comfortable as they awaited the cyclists to ride through Walsham Le Willows (Image: Lucy Taylor) Andy Mellen, leader of Mid Suffolk District Council, said: \u201cWe\u2019re so proud to have hosted such a prestigious sporting event and it\u2019s been a fantastic day.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cThe weather didn\u2019t seem to put people off, big crowds turned out to support, and there has been a great atmosphere.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  <img   alt=\"Crowds were ready to greet the cyclists in Walsham Le Willows\" style=\"width: 100%;\"\/>Crowds were ready to greet the cyclists in Walsham Le Willows (Image: Lucy Taylor)\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cWe know this race will provide a boost to the local economy, and seeing some of the world\u2019s top riders will hopefully inspire others to get out on their bikes.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Crowds braved the elements as wet weather lashed down in Suffolk for stage two,\u00a0which started and finished in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":397097,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4104],"tags":[4230,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-397096","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115145764113528997","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397096\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/397097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}