Crowds lined the streets in Alderley Edge this afternoon to see the Tour of Britain speed through the village and soak up the atmosphere.
This is the first time Cheshire East has played host to this prestigious event and having set off from Congleton just after 11am, riders reached the village centre just after 1.30pm where thousands of spectators were waiting to witness Britain's biggest cycling event.
It provided a fantastic opportunity to showcase the village and many local businesses had entered into the spirit of the event by decorating their windows, using the Cheshire stage colour orange. Bikes painted orange were displayed around the village and handmade orange flowers and orange balloons were hung on the railings and trees along London Road. Members of Alderley Edge Methodist Church were also on hand to serve free coffees and teas to passers by.
Whilst the village centre was packed with spectators, pupils from Alderley Edge School for Girls and Alderley Edge Community Primary School filled the pavement outside the school and Aldeli opposite waving their handmade flags.
Ms Bridget Howard, Head of the Junior School at Alderley Edge School for Girls, said "There was great excitement from both children and adults alike to see top athletes pass through our village, especially so soon after our cycling success in the Rio Olympics. The girls were thrilled and it it is experiences such as this that they will remember into adulthood!."
Stephen Higham said "Today at the Aldeli the children of Alderley Edge Primary School came to view the cycling race in safety. AESG girls lined the other side of the road so we had a really enthusiastic massive crowd of people cheering and blowing horns - it was a great day."
The third sprint of the day, which finished in the centre of the village, was won by Matt Cronshaw (Team Madison Genesis) with Graham Briggs (Team JLT Condor) second and Kristian House (Team One Pro Cycling) took third place with the peloton following 6 minutes and 20 seconds later.
The riders then proceeded up Macclesfield Road to start the first King of the Mountains of the day which Kristian House won with Graham Briggs second and Ian Stannard from Team Sky in third.
Amongst the competitors were Sir Bradley Wiggins who is racing alongside fellow Olympic gold medallist Owain Doull and Jonathan Dibben under the Team Wiggins' banner.
Whilst Britain's record Tour de France stage winner Mark Cavendish is taking part alongside fellow top sprinter André Greipel and former UCI World Hour Record holder Rohan Dennis. Cavendish is part of the Team Dimension Data alongside Steve Cummings, who is twice a runner-up in the Tour of Britain.
Additionally British champion Adam Blythe, who lives in Alderley Edge, is riding in the national Great Britain team.
To celebrate Stage 3 of the Tour of Britain coming through Alderley Edge a team of 12 solicitors from Chafes completed a charity static bike ride outside their office which continued long after the Tour of Britain riders had sped through. The team at Chafes are raising money for the David Lewis centre and have been out in orange t-shirts handing out balloons all day.
Partner Jon Roberts said "Today has been like a carnival atmosphere here in Alderley, it is good to see so many people lining the streets and their generosity has been brilliant. A big thank you to them and to the Chafes cyclists, they've done a great job and it's been a warm job."
Click here to view a video of the cyclists climbing up Macclesfield Road, taken by Richard Bullock.
Thanks to Lee Calver, Stephen Higham, Bob Spedding and AESG who provided some photos for our gallery.
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