THE penultimate stage of the Women's Tour of Britain will be across north Essex.

Colchester and Clacton will be hosting this stage on Friday, October 8.

A statement from the event's team said: "This stage will mark the first time that Colchester has welcomed the Women’s Tour, although the town’s notable links to cycling include hosting a Tour of Britain stage finish (2010) and four rounds of the Tour Series."

Gazette: Map - the route in north Essex for the women's raceMap - the route in north Essex for the women's race

The stages will start in Colchester and end in the seaside town of Clacton and cover many notable villages in Tendring.

In total there will be eight stages in the Colchester to Clacton section of the sporting event.

Twelve of the world’s top 15 teams will be in action at this year’s Women’s Tour which is running between Monday, October 4 to Saturday October 9.

The stages include:

- Colchester Northern Gateway Sports Park

- A137 Parsons Heath

- Tenpenny Hill

- Holland-on-Sea

- Mistley

- Skinners Rise

- Tenpenny Hill

- Marine Parade West, Clacton

More details of stage five – including timetables – will be announced in due course.

To find out more visit womenstour.co.uk/stages/stage-5/.