Major cycling event to remain in Black Country after faulty light repaired
A major cycling event that brings an estimated £1 million to the Black Country will remain in the region after a faulty light was repaired.
Fears were raised that the Lapierre Tour of the Black Country - a 100km cycle race which is set to start and end at Wolverhampton's Aldersley Leisure Village on May 10 - could move to Liverpool over a broken tower light at the stadium.
Organisers had plotted the move as a last resort after failing to get a response from Wolverhampton City Council over when the light would be fixed.
The light had been lowered onto the circular track after it became unstable.
But yesterday workers remedied the problem - to the immense relief of Francis Longworth, who organises the event for Cycle Classics.
He said: "We are delighted that the work has been completed, it is a relief.
"We are very happy to be holding this race in Wolverhampton and the venue is perfect for us.
"The Tour of the Black Country is an extremely popular event which draws a wide entry from the local community, and from all over the UK and Europe, around 700 to 1,000 people in total.
"We chose Aldersley as the location for the event in order to use the excellent outdoor velodrome and because we wanted to support cycling in the area.
"The communication from the council wasn't perfect and it did make for quite a worrying month for us.
"We didn't want to move the race but felt we may have had to.
"We are very happy that the problem has eventually been solved."
A specially commissioned study estimated the 'secondary spend' brought in from external competitors in the Tour of the Black Country event at £1 million.
Wolverhampton City Council spokesman Tim Clark confirmed that the repairs were due to take place yesterday afternoon.
He said the work was required due to the floodlight column becoming 'dangerously unstable' in recent high winds.
It was temporarily lowered so manufacturers could inspect the fittings. Mr Clark added: "Unfortunately, due to the location of the floodlight, the only practical way to do this was to lay it over the cycle and athletics track.
"Public safety has to be our first priority."
The Tour of the Black Country will be held on May 10, starting and finishing at Aldersley Velodrome.
The race is modelled on the classic French event the Paris-Roubaix and takes in in 20 km of cobbled roads, stony farm tracks and bridleways in the West Midlands and Worcestershire.
