The Isle of Wight will not play host to the prestigious cycling event, the Tour of Britain in 2024.
It comes nearly a year after the Island was supposed to hold the final stage of the 2022 event — with the race winding across the Island and ending at the Needles.
Due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II last September, the final 3 stages of the event did not take place.
The cancellation of the event left the Isle of Wight Council £350,000 out of pocket — as it paid £250,000 to host the event, as well as a further £100,000 for other expenses.
After the event was cancelled, the council said organisers, SweetSpot, had made it clear they were not in a position to refund any of the money. Negotiations were ongoing to host a future cycling event on the Island, which would have some financial concessions but again the infrastructure costs of hosting would fall to the council.
Due to the logistics of holding the major cycling event on the Isle of Wight, SweetSpot said the Island was best suited to hosting either the opening or final stage of the race.
Spaces for the 2023 race were full but there had been hopes for 2024 with the organisers saying it was their first and preferred option.
In an update given this week by County Hall, a council spokesperson confirmed the Island would not be on the 2024 Tour of Britain route as the finishing stage had already been filled.
They said:
“While we are keen to look at the options of considering a future stage, there are costs to consider in the context of the current financial position.
“We are keen to stage a future finish for the event rather than just a mid-week stage.
“Presently the 2024 finish has been secured, so we have a little more time to consider our options.”
It had been hoped the Island would make around £4 million from the event by drawing in spectators. The 2023 Tour of Britain is set to start on September 3 in Altrincham and finish a week later in Caerphilly.
Crack open the champagne, it’s about time we had some good news, far too many morons cycling around holding up traffic as it is, we shouldn’t be encouraging more of the bell ends over here!
Losing £350,000 isn’t a celebration but at least preventing this council from speculating more of our money on grand events is good news.
yes – now that is news worth celebrating
Well said.all those adult men wearing their girlfriends lacra.
How is it fine for them to be all over the road carrying out road race’s etc?when they don’t pay anything to be on the road?
they need to have a licence and third party insurance.
Thick as pig sh*t
Sniff my exhaust Greta 🙂
Do you not think the dvla, the insurance companies would have done so already, had there been a real reason to? There’s a thought.
Girlfriends lycra? Attempt at humour? You only wish you had the legs, the heart, of a cyclist.
There is good reason for them to have third party insurance and an identifying plate.
But the Upper Middle Class Elite Civil Servant Cyclists have the ear of the government so we won’t be seeing this any time some.
Get some fresh air! Drag your sweaty crevices out of the metal box, relwase your chubby wotsit fingers from the steering wheel, leave the road rage behind, spin those legs, feel the breeze, get fit, feel the endorphins, save fuel, one less motor clogging up out children’s lungs. Best thing I ever did was start cycling. Shame I’m still paying through the nose for x2 diesels, sooner I get rid the better.
Are you trying to get us aroused because it is not working?
£350,000 of our money just ‘issed up the wall by the council…. great result..
IW Council are good at spending our money.
Get ready for the next Council Tax rise.
Useless B’stards.
I understand it was cancelled because of the death of the queen but we’ve paid so should get money back or put us top of the list to have it back on.
Great news, maybe not for the cycling fans but at least our council will not be throwing more of our money away in expenses incurred and sponorship.
The sun might not be shining but I’m a happy girl after hearing this good news
Whoop whoop
Stupid Karen.
Happy Happy Happy
Together we solved it
I bet you are a big fat blimp addicted to clogging up the roads in your massive car to go and feed your inevitable heart attack.
Alright then Miss I’m gonna use the name of a hypocritical virtue signalling child idiot who will moan at you about driving a petrol car whilst swanning around on a giant yacht. Get a life and a brain you sheep.
One man’s pain is another girls joy
The real reason, they can’t guarantee there will be a ferry.
Great news, let them, take their Lycra elsewhere.
Bloody good job!! Keep the roadlouse off the island! Got loads of idiots on bikes already
Best news iv’e heard for ages, who wants to watch a load of men in lycra peddling like lunatics
Sounds like fun to me darling. Ooh chase me!
Good news indeed. Stupid council should never have paid out all that cash, get pushy and demand it back.
They will only waste it other ways
Am I the only one who hates cyclists riding side by side
blocking paying motorists who want to go about their business.
While this useless lot who pay nothing to be on the Road
p*ss everyone off!
Learn your highway code, it reads cyclists should ride no more than 2 abreast.
Also there is no such thing as road tax, roads are funded through income tax. Motorists pay excise duty based on how much your vehicle pollutes.
What a shame. It could put the Island on the map. Lots of revenue missed here and a simple way to recoup the money. Too slow Isle of Wight Council. Get yourselves in gear for goodness sake
Last time I looked the Isle of Wight was on the map just below Hampshire. Has it been removed and why would a second rate road race put us back on the map? We need to know because we want to be on the map. God knows what might happen if we are not on the map.
Probably the ferry companies we’re charging too much to to bring the cyclists over. Oh! they may have to employ extra staff just in case some of the crew pulled a sicky
Oddly why does it cost so much in fees to host a day of racing, the only people making money out of this is the organisers, what benefit to the island is there, and more worrying if the island council decided on our behalf we would have benefited from such a thing why did they not take out adequate insurance to cover losses due to cancellation.
Wahoo, yippee, hurrah!! We didn’t want the lycra nonce’s in the first place.
Don’t “normal” event organisers take out in insurance in case they have to be cancelled. Surely, SweetSpot took out insurance and so could have refunded the £250k. Send the boys round.
OK if they keeps cars off the road whilst it’s going on, otherwise just a big trail of pollution following them and even more of a queue if there’s inconsiderate cyclists. Keep to the mainland as not enough room for diversions etc roads are to small.
Spaces for the 2023 race were full but there had been hopes for 2024 with the organisers saying it was their first and preferred option.
that worked then!
I’m surprised they even thought of coming with the disgraceful state that Island roads are in.