Hawarden schoolgirl to start Tour of Britain race

With 50 days to go until the OVO Energy Tour of Britain comes to Wirral, Cheshire and North Wales, it’s been announced that a Hawarden schoolgirl will have the honour of starting the race on Wednesday, 11 September.

As the winner of the start flag design competition, 8-year-old Maddison from Hawarden Village Church School, will see her winning design made into the official start flag for Stage 5 of Britain’s most prestigious cycle race.

She will be invited to wave her flag to start the riders off as they begin the 174km route, which starts and ends in Birkenhead Park. Two runners-up from the competition will also be invited to the event.

The competition was sponsored by Airbus and attracted more than 30 entries from schoolchildren near their Broughton factory, which will feature on the Tour of Britain route.

The entries were judged by representatives of Airbus, race organisers Sweetspot, Wirral Council and professional rider Mike Cuming.

[Judging gets underway at Airbus for start of flag competition]

Cheshire-based pro cyclist Mike is a former British Under-23 Champion who has ridden the OVO Energy Tour of Britain on four previous occasions and will be aiming to race this September with the Madison Genesis team.

He commented: “There were some great entries – the quality of them was incredible.

It was really tough to pick a winner, but we got there in the end. Maddison’s design was a worthy choice and I hope she has a fantastic day when she starts Stage 5 in Wirral in September.”

It will be the first time that the Tour of Britain has come to Wirral, with the race being a sporting highlight of its Borough of Culture year.

The route will see some of the world’s top riders pass through the historic Port Sunlight and into Cheshire West and Chester, notably passing the Airbus manufacturing facility at Broughton.

The route will return to Wirral via Heswall, Caldy and Hoylake, before passing through the Birkenhead Park finish line and taking in a loop through Seacombe, Wallasey and New Brighton.

Airbus employee and keen cyclist Simon Roberts said: “We are proud to sponsor the Wirral Stage of the Tour of Britain this year and delighted to have been able to involve our local schools through this flag competition.

Congratulations to all the entrants and to Maddison for her winning design.”

The Wirral Stage of OVO Energy Tour of Britain on Wednesday 11 September is supported by Airbus, Cambrianway, Mott McDonald and Amey Consulting. Full route information can be found at: https://www.tourofbritain.co.uk/stages/stage-five/