Vélo Birmingham & Midlands reveals date for 2020 event

Organisers of the 100-mile Vélo Birmingham & Midlands have revealed the showpiece closed-road cycle sportive will return on Sunday, June 28, 2020 – exactly one year from today.

One of Europe’s largest cycling events, Vélo Birmingham & Midlands 2020 will take up to 18,000 riders of all abilities through the West Midlands in front of tens of thousands of spectators.

The event will once again feature a 100 mile fully closed road route that starts and finishes in Birmingham and takes riders through Coventry city centre and the West Midlands countryside.

Following the success of the 42 mile route in 2019, organisers are planning on announcing details of their shorter route in early 2020. Coventry – the UK’s City of Culture 2021 – will once again play host as the finish location of the shorter route. Entries aren’t open yet, but prospective participants can pre-register on the event website.

More information on both routes will be released in the coming months, including detailed road closure information.

General entries for the 100-mile route are opening soon and are once again expected to sell out fast. To be in with a chance of taking part you must pre-register at velobirmingham.com. Entries for the shorter route will open in the coming months once the 100 mile event is sold-out.

Vélo Birmingham & Midlands 2019 raised over £1m for local and national charities and next year’s event will once again work closely with its four Charity Partners – Cure Leukaemia, Alzheimer’s Society, NSPCC and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity – along with dozens of other charities to raise even more money than this year.

The 2019 event also injected £2.4m into the economy, with overnight visitors spending an average of £140.00 during their visit to the West Midlands. Participants travelled from 36 different countries to take part in Vélo Birmingham & Midlands 2019, making the event a global showcase for the region’s tourist destinations.

The Business 100 will feature as part of Vélo Birmingham & Midlands 2020, offering the Midlands business community a unique VIP participation experience alongside networking and exclusive training opportunities.

Vélo Birmingham & Midlands will continue its ambition to reflect the diversity of the region and Naseem Akhtar of the Saheli Hub community project has been announced as the new ‘Women of Vélo’ ambassador.

She will be joined by Solihull-born England rugby legend and Vélo Series ambassador Martin Johnson.

Richard Relton, CEO of the Vélo Series, said: “We are delighted to have secured a brand new, summertime date for the third edition of Vélo Birmingham & Midlands. The 2019 event was a huge success and we’re looking forward to returning in exactly one year’s time with an even bigger and more inclusive event. Vélo Birmingham & Midlands is now one of the Midlands’ biggest annual sporting events and we’re committed to growing and improving it year on year, not only for the participants but also for the region as a whole.”

Ian Ward, leader of Birmingham City Council, commented: “Vélo Birmingham & Midlands is an incredibly important event for Birmingham and the Midlands and I’m delighted that we’ve secured such a fantastic date for 2020. In addition to the economic impact it delivers to the region, the event is vitally important in helping us promote cycling as a more environmentally sustainable mode of transport within the city. With the Commonwealth Games on the horizon, I hope the people of the Midlands feel inspired to take on this fantastic challenge.”

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