Elite cycling race the Tour of Britain is set to come to Cornwall in September with the Grand Depart first stage going through the Duchy.

The event will launch on Sunday, September 6, with cyclists leaving from Penzance and making their way to Bodmin where the first stage will finish.

It is the first time the Tour of Britain has ever held a stage in Cornwall and is expected to draw large crowds of spectators.

Cornwall Council, which is supporting the event, said it expected around 170,000 people could line the route.

It also estimates that it could have an impact on the economy giving a boost of around £3.4 million.

In addition the event will put Cornwall on display to the world through TV coverage with ITV4 and Eurosport, getting an average audience of 500,000.

And details have now been revealed of when the tour will pass through towns in Cornwall on the 185km route.

It is due to start in Penzance at 11am and there is a neutralised zone at first - from Penzance to St Just – when the cyclists will start off slowly before they hit their racing stride.

The tour will pass through St Ives and is due to reach Hayle at 12.15pm before moving on to Penryn for 1.45pm. The cyclists will then head towards Newquay, arriving at around 2.45pm.

St Austell is the next town the tour will pass through at around 3.15pm and from there it goes to Bodmin where there will be a sprint finish at 3.45pm.

Residents and visitors will be encouraged to line the route and cheer the cyclists on as they speed past.

A land art competition is being organised to encourage communities to create large-scale works which will be seen by the helicopter filming the race for TV coverage.

Tour of Britain organisers in Cornwall are hoping people will use the black-and-white colour scheme – reflecting the Cornish flag – which has been adopted in the logo which was created by students at Falmouth University.

The logo has also been branded in English and Cornish to give the language a boost.

Cornwall Council staff who have been holding information events for towns along the route say people are keen to get involved.

Tamzyn Smith, principal lead for culture, told a recent all-member briefing for councillors: “This (the presentation to towns) has gone down really positively.

“There is a lot of interest and passion in the towns.”

A comprehensive website has been set up with all the information about the Tour of Britain in Cornwall and with contact links for businesses which might want to get involved.

The website can be found at cornwalltourofbritain.co.uk

Tamzyn said: “It is a chance for the whole of Cornwall to get involved in this national event.”

Organisers are also aiming to create legacies from the event being held in Cornwall with aims of having more cycling facilities and working with schools.

The council is also making repairs to some of the roads which will be used in the race to ensure they are “race ready”.

But all works are included in the roads maintenance programme agreed by the council with no additional investment being made to roads for the event.

Organisers also said the Tour of Britain will arrive in Penzance ahead of the launch so there will be two days of events across the weekend.

Local cycling clubs are getting involved with helping with the event and organisers are encouraging locals to decorate their areas to welcome the cyclists as they ride by.

It is also hoped that the route will be available for other cyclists to use.

However the route will use roads which will be closed off on a rolling basis.

For more information about the Tour of Britain go to cornwalltourofbritain.co.uk