Cambridge: Festival Announced To Celebrate Tour de France

7 January 2014, 06:15 | Updated: 7 January 2014, 15:33

With exactly six months to go until the Tour de France arrives in Cambridge, a cultural and sporting festival is being announced to celebrate the world famous race.

The Velo Festival will be a series of countywide activities run by local community organisations between May and September to showcase how cycling has become part of Cambridgeshire's past, present and future.

The Festival already involves many types of events such as the Big Weekend in Cambridge, a bike ballet and cycling roadshows in market towns.

Now local groups, organisations and clubs are being invited to put forward events to involve young and old and celebrate the visit of Le Tour to ensure the impact of the race is felt "well beyond July".

Councillor Noel Kavanagh, Cycling Champion at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: "Our plan this year is to seize the opportunity for Cambridgeshire to be showcased, enjoyed and seen in a new light by local residents, visitors and international spectators who come to experience Le Tour. 

This is a chance which we could not ignore to celebrate how cycling is part of our county's DNA both now and in the future.

While there are milestones ahead such as International Bike day in May, we are keen to hear from anyone who feels they could contribute to the Festival. 

We know for a lasting legacy to be created from Le Tour de France we must look beyond the confines of the city to include people from across Cambridgeshire. 

Holding a stage of Le Tour is an honour for us all and we must ensure it lives long in all our memories."