Halfords Cycle Tour is coming to Peterborough. Ben Price local cyclist talks to Paul Stainton. Broadcast at 07:25 on Tuesday 20th April 2010 in the Paul Stainton Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Peterborough.
PAUL: Good news if you’re a Peterborian. The Halfords Cycle Tour is coming again to Peterborough this year. You may remember the race made it’s debut last year in the city. It was a massive success. Over five thousand people turned up in the city centre to see people going whizzing around our streets, even though I oiled the corner near Woolworths. Ben Price is from City Racing and will be in the race on the fifteenth of June. Good morning Ben.
BEN: Good morning.
PAUL: Nice bit of Lycra there.
BEN: Yes. Very nice. I get told I look like a Smurf every day.
PAUL: (wheezes) It is a blue Smurfy colour that.
BEN: It makes you stand out.
PAUL: You look fit. And the girls through the glass there .. girls, thumbs up for the Lycra girls? Thumbs up for the Lycra? Yes, oh yes.
BEN: Thay didn’t put their thumbs up.
PAUL: Well. (laughs) They’re too busy picking themselves up off the floor Ben. Is it ever too early for Lycra?
BEN: It is this morning, yes. Getting out of bed at half past six to put Lycra on is … different.
PAUL: It was a huge success this race last year, wasn’t it? A massive success. We were a bit .. we weren’t sure whether the people of Peterborough would come out and support it but they did. Five thousand people topped up, didn’t they?
BEN: Yes it’s brilliant. It’s a good family evening out. Kids can come along, adults, you can go for a meal, have a drink, come out and support us all. It’s really good.
PAUL: The course was round the city centre, wasn’t it?
BEN: Yes. To keep it all in one area, so the people don’t get bored, people can look at it, you can see all the action on the corners. It’s really really good. It’s the way forward I think. Because the main roads are getting really busy, so to bring it into the town centres, it brings it to the people as well. And it’s great for local businesses.
PAUL: I was looking for a few crashes to be honest. I tried to oil the corner at Woolies, as you have to go up and over ..
BEN: I hope you’re not doing that this year.
PAUL: No no of course not. I’ve thought up a new plan, don’t worry about that. I’m going to have moving obstacles. Is it special to be racing in your home town?
BEN: Yes it’s really good. You get the family out, get my friends out, seeing everyone out, you know, it’s really gives you a little bit of a boost. It’s great.
PAUL: What did the other racers think of our city last year? Do they like coming here?
BEN: Last year I didn’t race in the Tour Series. But I heard that one of the corners was pretty tight.
PAUL: That’s the Woolies one I should think, off the Bourges Boulevard.
BEN : Yes. So there’s a few corners they were quite scared to hit. I was told it was fast. It was good.
PAUL: And hopefully by the time the fifteenth of June comes Cathedral Square will be finished.
BEN: Yes hopefully. They take their time but hopefully they’ll have that sorted.
PAUL: You won’t have to dodge a digger or anything like that. So your part of this tour series. How many times do you race a week then?
BEN: It’s going to be twice a week in the Tour Series. So it’s going to be pretty busy. I’ll be racing then recovering, you make sure you do the training before the Tour Series, because you can’t play catch-up. If you play catch-up then your going to get whupped.
PAUL: Well listen, good luck with it. It’s the fifteenth of June in Peterborough. Good luck in the whole series.
BEN: Thank you very much.
PAUL: And knock them dead when you’re cycling round Peterborough. Let’s get eight nine ten thousand people out that day.
BEN: Yes. Come out. have a meal, have some beers, and then come out and watch us, support us, and cheer as loud as you can. It’s brilliant.
PAUL: Ben Price, local lad. Halfords Cycle Tour coming to Peterborough again this year, round the city centre on the fiteenth of June. It was great last year. It should be good fun this year. Let’s hope we get the weather.