A GRAND two-day cycling celebration will be held in Southampton for the first time in the city’s history.

The Cycle Southampton event has been organised by Rees Leisure, which successfully revived the city’s half-marathon three years ago.

It will consist of two events on September 9 and 10 – the Criterium on September 9 and the Sportive the following day.

The Criterium will be a one-mile circular loop of Southampton city centre.

With options for more competitive riders as well the first-timers and families, the route will take riders around two of the city’s parks.

The Sportive will offer a longer distance challenge, with 60k or 100k marked routes heading out from the city centre, through the Meon and Test Valleys and back into the heart of Southampton.

It is hoped the event will attract more than 2,500 cyclists to help make Cycle Southampton one of the city’s major cycling events.

Organiser Chris Rees said: “Health, charity and community are the most important things to us as a company and Cycle Southampton is set to tick all three boxes.

“We hope it will encourage people to get active, while bringing people together and hopefully raising lots of money for worthy causes through sponsorship and fundraising.

“Sky Ride is hugely popular and it’s something families look forward to every year.

“We are excited to add yet another opportunity for people to get out on their bikes at the end of the summer.”

As well as the Criterium and Sportive, Cycle Southampton will feature a race village in Southampton’s parks which include stabiliser training sessions for children and trade stands from top bike manufacturers.

Satvir Kaur, Southampton City Council’s culture boss, said: “Cycle Southampton will offer something for everyone, right from professional riders right through to beginners, encouraging more of us to jump on our bikes and get involved.

“It’s one of the council’s priorities to make the city a regional hub for cycling, and this event, combined with our city-wide cycling strategy launched earlier this year, will help us achieve that ambition.”