Sunderland hosts some of Britain's greatest cyclists as The Tour Series visits town for first time

Sunderland will host some of Britain's greatest cyclists today as The Tour Series visits the town for the first time.

The event, which started in the North Yorkshire town of Guisborough on Sunday, sees some of Britain's best male and female cyclists compete against each other, as part of a day of sporting and community-focused activities.

Round Two of the event will be held on a 1.3 kilometre circuit starting and finishing on Burdon Road. Highlights of the race will be available on ITV4.

It's been two years since The Tour Series was held. Mick Bennett, Tour Series race director, said: "It certainly has not been an easy process, outlined most notably by our decision to move the series back from its traditional May calendar position to August.

"The uncertainty as to when major events with crowds could return, something that has only relatively recently had greater clarity shed upon it, has presented us and our local authority stakeholders with many challenges to get rounds confirmed.

How does the Tour Series work?

  • The race remains unique in professional cycling owing to its team-based format.

  • The aim for teams is to complete the race in the lowest cumulative time.

  • Teams are permitted to start each race with five riders, and it is the combined time of their three (women's series) and four (men's series) highest-placed riders that decides who is the fastest on the night.

  • The team who consistently performs the best and scores the highest combined points tally wins the yellow leaders' jerseys and eventually on to claim the prestigious Tour Series title.

The route in Sunderland is based around Mowbray Park.

Starting and finishing in the shadow of the Jack Crawford statue, a memorial to a local sailing hero, the course passed the city's Museum and Winter Gardens and is expected to produce the fastest lap times in the 2021 series.

Race highlights will feature on ITV4 at 7pm - and extensive race day coverage will be available on the series' digital platforms.