The world's top cyclists are set to head to Warwickshire this summer as the Lloyds Tour of Britain returns to the county.

Warwickshire will host stage four of the men's race on Friday 5 September with a testing hilltop finish.

The day's route will take in all five boroughs and districts as the county hosts the Lloyds Tour of Britain Men for the first time since 2019, with a stage heading from Atherstone to the ever-popular hilltop finish at Burton Dassett Hills Country Park. 

The challenging finale will see riders tackling the 700-metre climb of Burton Dassett Hills, averaging almost nine per cent gradient, on three occasions in the closing kilometres, the final time for the stage finish, making for a great location to see the riders at their limit on multiple occasions. 

Tour de France winner and Olympic gold medallist Geraint Thomas is expected to make his final career appearance at the race before retiring.

Commenting on the announcement, Jonathan Day, managing director of British Cycling Events, said: "Warwickshire has a long and proud history of hosting the Lloyds Tour of Britain with great support from the communities across the county, so we are delighted to be returning, especially with such a challenging finale at Burton Dassett Hills Country Park, that will draw spectators from right across the heart of England." 

Warwickshire children will also have the chance to be involved once again, with Warwickshire County Council launching a competition for under-11s to design the flag that will start the race in Atherstone, and the trophy that will be presented to the stage winner at Burton Dassett. 

This September will be the third time that Warwickshire has hosted Britain's biggest professional men's cycle race, with the most recent occasion being in September 2019, when Dutch sensation Mathieu van der Poel won atop Burton Dassett Hills Country Park. 

Polish rider Kasia Niewiadoma also won a stage of the women's race in the same location that year, with Warwickshire having also hosted the Tour of Britain Women on five occasions in the last decade. 

The county also hosted the men's and women's road races in the Commonwealth Games in August 2022, with both events starting and finishing in Warwick. 

The detailed route of the Warwickshire stage of the Lloyds Tour of Britain Men will be published later in July. 

The Lloyds Tour of Britain Men begins in East Suffolk on Tuesday 2 September, with an opening leg between Woodbridge and Southwold.