The Tour of Britain cycle race, which hit the highways of Cheshire East in September, has been hailed a great success by Cheshire East Council who say it generated £3.5m additional revenue for the borough.
The Council has also announced that the event on September 6th boosted visitor income to an estimated £5.45m and attracted 300,000 spectators - apparently this was the highest number for the tour and equal to the turnout for the final stage in London.
Cheshire East Council invested more than £267,000 to attract this national event, which featured seven Olympic cyclists including Sir Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish, to help put Cheshire East firmly on the map as a visitor destination.
Cheshire East Council deputy leader David Brown said: "This has been a truly fantastic event and our faith in the residents and businesses of Cheshire East, in the support they gave to the event, has been thoroughly rewarded.
"We have answered our critics, who said we should not have been doing this but the legacy value of the race – both economically and in terms of other outcomes – is without precedent in this borough.
"To stage an event on this scale – involving our Olympian cyclists, with 1.23 million television viewers and the huge profile and prestige this has brought to Cheshire East – has been a great triumph for the council, the Tour of Britain and, most of all, our residents and businesses."
A report on the legacy value of the event, based on independent research, has been prepared and presented to the council's cabinet.
The report states the event: "provided a number of areas of additional benefit, including business development, media profile, healthy living promotion, community engagement and destination promotion."
It added "It provides opportunities to give a legacy focus to cycling development, participation, active lifestyles, promotion of cycle networks and sustainable transport initiatives."
The Council has been awarded a grant of £350,000 by the Department of Transport for sustainable travel funding which will be used to support walking and cycling initiatives and promote healthy lifestyles.
The Council plans to drive forward a programme to make cycling an active and healthy alternative to motorised transport through improved cycling infrastructure and facilities, attracting more cycling events and addressing perceived barriers to cycling.
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I think the decimal point is in the wrong place: £3.5m divided by 300,000 spectators is £11.67 per spectator.