Tour of Britain Cycle race, Epsom Saturday 21 September

The Tour of Britain Cycle race starts in Scotland on 15 September and ends in London on 22 September. Stage 7 is in Surrey, with Epsom Racecourse as the start and Guildford the finish, 155km in total. Stage 7 is on Saturday 21 September with the start at 12.00 noon. The finish is expected between 15.30 - 16.15 in Guildford High Street.

Just over 100 riders are competing and Sir Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish have both stating their intention to ride.

Epsom town is a "neutralised zone" so the riders will not be at full pace, giving people an even better opportunity for people to spot their cycling heroes. The race fully kicks into action just outside Ashtead, where the 30km signs are located.

From the start the route is along Grandstand Road into Longdown Lane South, along College Road into Alexandra Road, down Upper High Street and the High Street, into Ashley Road and then Ashley Avenue and along South Street and Dorking Road towards Ashtead.

People are encouraged to watch the race at any point along the route, although for cycling enthusiasts the start may be a preferred option. At the start members of the public can get close to the riders, obtain autographs and talk to the teams about their strategies. Refreshments will be available as will some additional fringe activities at the start.

The organisers would like to encourage people to wave flags, dress in British colours, wear their Wiggo sideburns left over from the Olympics and generally welcome the Tour to the Borough. Businesses are encouraged to dress their shop fronts or premises to raise awareness of the event and to create a festive feel through the Town.

Surrey County Council has issued a traffic management order for rolling road closures. Assuming the start of the race goes to plan and there are no unforeseen circumstances which will impact on the progress of the race, the roads will be closed at every junction along the route through Epsom from 11.45am and re-opened once the last support vehicle has gone through by approximately 12.15pm. Anyone trying to get across the Downs or through Epsom between these times will struggle, so unless interested in the race itself people should avoid the area completely if they can.

Although only the route of the race will be operating under a rolling road closure, all the surrounding roads will be affected by queuing traffic backed upwaiting for the roads to re-open. This will obviously affect car parks, access to Kiln Lane, The Rainbow Centre, Epsom General Hospital and all roads leading up to the Downs.

Yellow and Black advance notices will be put up by Surrey County Council, but will only say that there is a cycle race on Saturday 21 September, expect delays.

The Tour of Britain is the largest non-ticketed event and so it is almost impossible to guess the number of spectators on the Downs or in the Town Centre. As for most outdoor events, the weather will be a significant factor. Last year Reigate hosted the start and saw crowds of approximately 25,000. The police have estimated up to 10,000 on the Downs and an additional 2-3,000 in Epsom Town Centre but the event organisers have suggested that numbers could be higher.

For further specific details of the race see the GoSurrey website