Essex County Council has announced precise details of the route the Tour de France will follow on Monday 7 July when Stage 3 of cycling’s biggest race passes through the county on the way from Cambridge to London.

The route of the 159km stage will see it cross into the county to the north of Saffron Walden, passing via the Uttlesford district to head through or past Braintree, Chelmsford and Epping Forest before it heads into Greater London.

The council says the route has now been finalised and has confirmed full details of the road closures that will be put in place, listed at the end of this article.

Source: www.letour2014.stage3.com, hi resolution version here

Essex County Councillor Ann Naylor, Cabinet Member for Public Health & Wellbeing, said: “We’re delighted to be able to say ‘bienvenue’ from Essex to a global audience of up to 3.5 billion people next July.

"This is yet another great sporting event to come to our county, building on our success with the Olympic Mountain Biking event and the Torch Relay for London 2012.

"Cycling is not only a fast-growing global sport but a great way of keeping fit and healthy.”

The county is the birthplace of Team Sky’s Ian Stannard and Movistar’s Alex Dowsett, who still lives there, while Mark Cavendish has a home there, with wife Peta Todd hailing from Essex.

Councillor Naylor added: “It’s wonderful that we may have two inspirational Essex-born stars riding through their home county and I’m sure the spectacle of the peleton flashing through our towns and countryside will be a brilliant way to showcase our county to the world.

“Over the coming months we will be working closely with the event organisers, district, borough and city councils and other partners to confirm plans and ensure Le Tour passes through Essex safely and successfully.

“We will provide residents and businesses with regular updates on the Tour De France coming to Essex. This will help residents and businesses to enjoy this fantastic sporting event and plan their movements for the day,” she added.

Full details of Stage 3 of the race can be found here.

Tour de France Stage 3 road closures in Essex