SOME of the world's greatest cyclists are heading to Cumbria, as the Tour of Britain returns amidst the county's flooding fightback.

In the most defiant display possible, Cumbria will host an entire stage of the popular cycling race - showcasing to the world that Cumbria really is open.

Tour organisers would normally have finalised the route long before now and had been in talks with Cumbria County Council in the weeks leading up to December's devastating floods.

Recognising the state of disaster and the immediate focus needed on flood recovery, Tour bosses gave the council a two-month grace period to work out whether they wanted - and were even capable - of hosting a stage.

Mark Brierley, the council's lead officer for the Tour of Britain, said: "There was so much flood recovery work, and all the people who would need to be involved with planning the tour were doing flood recovery work.

"Once we'd done the immediate flood recovery, we consulted our other partners to see if there was still appetite for it. Everyone was unanimously in favour.

"It clearly sends out quite a bold message that Cumbria is open for business and can host a massive event."

The county will host stage two of the event on Monday, September 5. It will begin in Carlisle and finish in Kendal.

Its route has been specifically designed to pass through some of the areas worst-affected by the December storms.

"We wanted to include the communities hardest hit, it was one of the reasons for doing it," explained Mr Brierley, "to give something back.

"It will be one of the last days of the summer holidays, and so we wanted to build something around the weekend, to create something really positive and help those hardest hit.

"The Tour of Britain will be an economic boost of hard cash, but we can also the global story, that Cumbria as a collective can shout it is open and it is stunning.

"We will be showing off Cumbria at its best," added Mr Brierley.

The 195km route will travel from Carlisle along the A6, passing through Pooley Bridge before heading up through the Lake District and then west to Cockermouth. It passes by Keswick, tackling the Whinlatter Pass, before heading south and along the flood-hit A591 to Ambleside to the finish atop the testing 11 per cent climb of Beast Banks in Kendal.

It will be the fourth time Carlisle has hosted a start of the Tour of Britain, having previously hosted the race in 2005, 2012 and 2013.

Carlisle City Council leader Colin Glover said: “Carlisle will once again be showcased to a global audience and we’re thrilled to be part of an exciting event that attracts thousands of spectators.

“Carlisle and other parts of Cumbria were badly affected by the December storms and the Tour of Britain will send a clear message that ‘Cumbria is open for business’ and provide a boost to hard-hit businesses and communities across the county.”

Tour race director Mick Bennett said: "We are delighted to be returning to the heart of Cumbria and the Lake District with the Tour of Britain so we can once again showcase the fantastic scenery and celebrate the local communities we will pass through, particularly as so many were badly affected by the winter floods. 

"The stage will combine previously unvisited roads for the race and new climbs like Whinlatter Pass and the Struggle up to Kirkstone Pass, while we will also be including locations such as Carlisle, Penrith and Cockermouth, which are very familiar from previous editions of the Tour of Britain."

Last year Cumbria hosted two stages of the tour, attracting top name cyclists such as Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins to the county.

Together, they brought in more than 105,000 visitors to Cumbria which, coupled with a TV audience of 1.5 million viewers, gave a net economic benefit of £3.4m to the county's economy.

David Southward, Cumbria County Council cabinet member for economic development, said: “We’re delighted the Tour is coming back to Cumbria. It’s one of the country’s premier sporting events and I hope this announcement underlines that Cumbria is very much ‘open for business’ following December’s floods. 

"This year’s stage will doubtless provide an exciting sporting spectacle and showcase the best of Cumbria’s communities and landscape. 

"The economic boost it brings the county is significant - we hope the 2016 edition will have a similar impact.”