Tour of Britain seeks volunteers to help stage next month's race

Organisers of the Tour of Britain have issued a call for volunteers to step forward and help play a part in staging the 2011 edition of Britain’s biggest professional bike race next month.

Several hundred people have already volunteered, but more are needed to help undertake duties including staffing start and finish areas, as well as the 21 King of the Mountains climbs and 19 intermediate Yodel Sprints on the race.

Most will act as marshals at specific points on the route of the eight-day race, with other roles including co-ordinating team parking, spectator liaison and carrying out spectator surveys.

“We’d like to publically thank those who have already volunteered to be a part of The Tour of Britain,” said Race Director Mick Bennett. “Without volunteers events like The Tour of Britain and other cycle races in the UK simply couldn’t happen.”

“Today we are officially launching the drive to recruit volunteers across the entire Tour of Britain, but in particular we are looking for around 500 volunteers for the TfL London Stage on Sunday 18th September, which is due to be our biggest ever day of The Tour of Britain.”

Volunteers will be given “a substantial Goody Bag containing items from The Tour and its range of official suppliers and partners,” and will also get a 20 per cent discount off race merchandise from official supplier Pro Vision Clothing.

Their names will also be put into a draw to win two VIP hospitality passes for a stage of the 2012 edition, as well as an IG Markets Gold Jersey signed by this year’s Tour of Britain winner.

If you are interested in volunteering, go to the Tour of Britain website, where you can also find details of specific stages, and click on the Volunteer tab which will take you to the form you need to complete.