CYCLISTS are invited to take part in the Tour de Waltham Forest this weekend.

Around 230 bike riders took part in last year's event and organisers are hoping for a similar turn out this time.

Anyone from amateurs to experts can race either the five-mile bronze route, the 17-mile silver route or the 26-mile gold route, though they are all considerably shorter than the event's namesake, the exhausting 2,173-mile Tour de France.

The free event on Sunday, June 17, comes after Waltham Forest Council passed a number of bike-friendly measures for the borough's roads in April.

These include 20 mph speed restrictions for most residential roads, identifying the borough's 20 most dangerous junctions and roads with a view to implementing cycle safety measures and two-way cycling on one-way streets.

Tour de Waltham Forest races will start from Walthamstow Town Square, with registration opening at 10am. All participants will receive a medal after they cross the finish line, while bike providers and a bike repairman, known as Dr Bike, will be on hand.

The three-hour long gold route race will start at 11am, the two-hour long silver route journey at 1pm and the one-hour bronze route ride at 12pm before another kicks off at 2pm.

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