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Cycle tour beams beautiful Devon to world

Only Sherford is ugly (so come back when it's finished please)

He may have to think twice when calculating whether Devon is in England, but the American winner of stage two of the Tour of Britain 2021 certainly loved the views of the county as he sped through.

Robin Carpenter from Rally Cycling (we don't think they are the ones who made the Chopper) passed the finish line in Exeter' Queen Street first, having peddled furiously from Sherwood - the only ugly pictures of Devon to be beamed round the world. The South Hams town is still under construction.

The 115 mile stage saw a fantastic turnout at all of the communities along the route with spectators at Ermington, Totnes, Dartmouth, Kingsbridge, Modbury, Ivybridge, Cornwood, Yelverton, Tavistock, Princetown, Moretonhampstead and Dunsford providing incredible support for the cyclists.

Race commentator Ned Boulting said in ITV4’s TV coverage that “Devon was looking magnificent.”

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council cabinet member with responsibility for cycling, said: “Thousands of people turned out to watch a world class sporting event on our doorsteps, which was fantastic, and they were treated to some excellent racing from some of the sport’s top cyclists.

“Hopefully it provided a boost to some of our local businesses as well and helps them as we aim for a strong economic recovery in the county. And we were blessed with stunning weather so a worldwide audience watching on TV got to see some of Devon’s most scenic locations looking their best.”

Mick Bennett, Race Director of the AJ Bell Tour of Britain, said: “Today’s stage was beyond all expectations and it’s credit to everybody involved. I can’t sing everyone’s praises enough. With almost 3,500 metres of climbing this was definitely more difficult than previous Devon Stages. We want the Tour to show that Britain’s open again. We were fortunate with the weather, which was glorious, but that’s why people come to Devon.”

Devon has now featured in the Tour 13 times, hosting or co-hosting stages on 11 occasions. Since Devon’s first inclusion in the race in 2007 it has brought in over £41 million to the local economy, with more than 1.7 million people having watched the race in the county in that time.

The attached video is by Radio Exe's Sam Sterrett.

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