Midlands Vélo: Route announced for 2020 cycle ride

In the last event riders passed through Coventry city centre

The route has been revealed for one of the biggest cycling events in the UK.

Up to 18,000 cyclists are expected to join the Midlands Vélo on 21 June, starting in Birmingham City Centre and taking in parts of Coventry, Warwickshire and the Black Country.

Previous events have attracted criticism, with some residents living along the routes saying they felt "trapped" because of road closures.

Organisers said the new route would minimise the impacts on locals.

Midlands Vélo said it would be distributing more than 650,000 leaflets to addresses along the route to raise awareness of the planned road closures.

The 2017 event raised more than £2m charity, but also saw nails thrown on to a section of the road after criticism of the route and closures.

After a hiatus in 2018, the event returned in 2019 with a radically reworked route.

Organisers have released the planned route for the 2020 100-mile cycle

This year's event sees further route changes, but generally passes through the same areas as 2019.

The full 100-mile course starts and finishes in Birmingham, while a shorter 45-mile one ends at Coventry Cathedral.

The full route starts and finishes near Birmingham's Centenary Square, passing through Hurley and Fillongley in Warwickshire before riding on to Coventry and Meriden. On the return to Birmingham, cyclists will pass through Dudley and Sandwell.

The route takes in rural parts of the West Midlands as well as two cities

Organisers also said the road closures would not affect emergency services. In 2019 a vet accused stewards of delaying him reaching a horse and newborn foal, who he said might not otherwise have died.

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In 2019 one participant died after coming off his bike at around the 23-mile mark on Coleshill Road in Atherstone, a road with a steep downhill section with tight left and right bends. This road remains in this year's planned route.

Organisers expect communities to support the cyclists along the route, including some street parties