STOCKBRIDGE is gearing up to be a centre of attention when a major cycling event speeds through the village in September.

The Tour of Britain, the equivalent of the Tour de France, will come through Stockbridge on Monday, September 10, as the 96 riders make their way from Reading to Southampton on the tour's first stage.

Last Thursday, representatives from the event addressed parish councillors in Stockbridge to give them a flavour of what the village can expect.

Paul Rowlands, from the tour, said Stockbridge could expect to be featured on television coverage, as it was due to host a special part of the race.

He said: "The reason that Stockbridge is significant on the tour is because it's used as a 'Hot Spot' sprint.

"The first four riders across the line in Stockbridge will receive points towards the 'Hot Spot' jersey."

The race is expected to pass through at midday, with riders coming in on the A3057 from Leckford, sprinting up the High Street and heading off towards Houghton.

Parish council chairman, Roger Tym, said the organisers had made a conservative estimate that at least 200 extra people would descend on Stockbridge for the event, alongside locals.

Vice-chairman, Janet Whiteley, expressed concerns over parking and crowd control, but Geoffrey Kronenburg, from the Tour of Britain, said a rolling roadblock would be in place, meaning any one section of road would be closed for no more than 20 minutes.

There would, therefore, be no parking restrictions in place as such.

Mr Tym said there would be 29 stewards on the day, in addition to police.

The event is also set to be a boon for businesses in the High Street.

Speaking after the meeting, Stockbridge and District Chamber of Trade president, Marion Paviour, said: "It can only be good for businesses; we're delighted that they have chosen to do this event and we hope they will do it again."

The tour runs between September 9 and 15. It begins with a time trial in London before the riders battle it out over six stages, totalling almost 600 miles, finishing in Glasgow.

The Reading to Southampton stage, which ends in the city's Hoglands Park, is 87 miles long and expected to take the riders around three-and-a-half hours to complete.