EXCITEMENT is building ahead of a top sporting event coming to Clacton this week.

The town is hosting the fifth round of professional cycle race the Sportsbreaks.com Tour Series on Thursday, bringing speed, colour and the whirr of gears for the evening.

Starting and finishing on Marine Parade East, the route will pass through the town centre with riders taking on multiple laps of the 1.4km circuit during the hour-long men’s race, starting at 5.30pm, and women’s race beginning at 7.30pm.

Ahead of the racing, from 12.30pm to 3.30pm, Essex Pedal Power and Active Essex will be running some community events on the course with local schools.

Alex Porter, Tendring Council cabinet member for leisure, said: “You don’t have to be a cycling fan in particular to enjoy the buzz of the racing action, the thrills and sometimes spills of competition, to appreciate the skill of the riders – or to simply see the town centre used in a completely different way.

“This promises to be a fun event, so why not make an evening of it – come down and watch some racing, grab some dinner from a local restaurant and have a drink, and enjoy the spectacle.”

Mick Bennett, Sportsbreaks.com Tour Series race director, added: “Clacton has previously been an excellent host venue for both the Tour of Britain and Women’s Tour, and we’re now really looking forward to bringing the high octane action of the Sportsbreaks.com Tour Series to the streets of the town centre.”

Residents and businesses are reminded of some road closures on the day of the event, with Marine Parade East closed between Anglefield and Pier Gap from 7am, with the rest of the route closing from midday.

As well as being livestreamed by the Tour Series on its YouTube channel youtube.com/thetourcycling, highlights of the Clacton event will be broadcast on ITV4 at 7pm on Friday, May 20.