Thousands of cyclists will hit Brisbane’s streets in April for the new Tour de Brisbane, shutting down a 110-kilometre network of roads across the city on a Sunday morning.
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The Tour de Brisbane will feature as the main event of the Brisbane Cycling Festival on April 14, with three events across the day.
A world-standard 110-kilometre Gran Fondo, a 45-kilometre Piccolo and an eight-kilometre Family Fondo will start and end at South Bank, with cyclists riding through the city to a gruelling hill climb up Mt Coot-tha.
The 110-kilometre ride will extend across the Western Freeway and the South-Eastern Busway, touching on Redlands council borders before turning back to the city.
A presentation made to Brisbane City Council’s infrastructure committee on Tuesday morning detailed the ride’s planned layout and impacts on drivers and pedestrians in the city.
The committee heard that more than 7000 cyclists had signed up across the three events, including the free family eight-kilometre ride.
Infrastructure chairman Amanda Cooper said the event was massive for Brisbane.
“It is not a small event, it’s an event that has very wide implications not just for Brisbane,” Cr Cooper said.
She said plenty of places would be available around the course for bystanders to watch the peloton flying by.
Roads are expected to be shut down between 4am and 1pm on the day, keeping cyclists completely separated from vehicles along the course.
As the ride progresses, roads will be reopened in stages from 8.30am.
The event is organised by NX Sport and is planned to be in Brisbane for the next five years, raising funds for the Amy Gillett Foundation.
Almost 100 traffic controllers and 100 police are expected to be on the ground directing on the day.
A management hub for the ride will be set up at the Brisbane Traffic Management Centre in the centre of the city, using council, Transport and Main Roads and Queensland Police resources.
Drivers will be diverted throughout the city as the ride begins, feeding motorists across the city in different routes, and travel through the Clem7 tunnel will be free from the northside until 9.30am.
The elite 110-kilometre Gran Fondo is expected to draw international and national competitors to Brisbane.
Detailed road closures will be available later in March, Cr Cooper said.
