Birmingham 2022 Cycling Road Race route announced

With nine months to go until the Games begin, Birmingham 2022 has announced the full course for the Cycling Road Race. The announcement comes 12 months after it was revealed that the event, which will be held on Sunday 7 August 2022, would start and finish at St Nicholas' Park in Warwick.

The Road Race will see the women complete seven laps of a 16km course, whilst the men will complete ten laps. The course will involve the riders cycling past the Lord Leycester Hospital in Warwick town centre, as well as Victoria Park in Royal Leamington Spa, the venue for the Birmingham 2022 lawn bowls and para lawn bowls competition. The final part of the course will cross the River Avon, where the cyclists will be treated to a stunning view of Warwick Castle.

Councillor Heather Timms, Warwickshire County Council Portfolio Holder for Environment, Climate and Culture, said: “We are very proud that the location of the Birmingham 2022 Road Race will be Warwick and that, with our partners in the District Council, we will be hosting this incredible event next year.   

“Having studied the route for the Road Race, we are very happy that it showcases so much of the historic splendour of the town of Warwick and that it will provide a challenging course for competitors in August 2022. 

“Warwickshire has been building an international reputation as a venue for world-class cycling for years since the county first hosted a stage of the Women’s Tour and, later, of the Tour of Britain. This is another opportunity for us to shine in front of a global audience. 

“The Games coming to our region is truly a once in a lifetime event and I am thoroughly looking forward to seeing Warwick abuzz with spectators next year to enjoy a thrilling day of road race cycling.” 

Birmingham 2022, organisers of the Commonwealth Games, have also revealed today that the latest and final venue for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games is Victoria Square in Birmingham city centre, which is where the marathon athletes will cross the finish line for the gruelling 26.2 mile event. 

The square will be a welcome sight for the finishers in all four races that will be held on Saturday 30 July 2022, with the men’s marathon, women’s marathon and the men’s and women’s T53/T54 events all taking place on the same course which will start at Smithfield, another Birmingham city centre venue that has previously been announced as the home of beach volleyball and basketball 3x3 and wheelchair basketball 3x3 during the Games.

Birmingham 2022 has also unveiled the courses for the Cycling Time Trial which will start and finish in West Park in Wolverhampton and the Triathlon and Para Triathlon events which will be held in and around Sutton Park, six miles north of Birmingham City Centre.

Matt Kidson, Director of Sport for Birmingham 2022 said: “We are pleased to be able to publish all of the courses for our road events today. These routes will help to profile some fantastic landmarks from across the region and showcase the West Midlands and Warwickshire to the world.

“Publishing these details with nine months still to go until the Games begin also means that local residents, businesses and other organisations have plenty of time to make plans for when these one-day events are staged in their local area.”

Full course descriptions and course maps are available now at birmingham2022.com where frequently asked questions for each of the events have also been added, to provide local residents and businesses with as much information as possible. Community engagement teams from all of the local partners for each event are also now reaching out to people in each local area, to share all of the information that is currently available.

Engagement with residents and business owners in each local area will continue over the next nine months and full details of road closures and traffic management plans are expected to be available in spring 2022.

• Full course unveiled for the Birmingham 2022 Cycling Road Race
• The course will showcase Warwickshire to millions of TV viewers across the globe
• The event will be free to watch for many spectators, with tickets only required for the start and finish at St Nicholas Park
• Engagement with residents, businesses and stakeholders to take place over the next nine months, providing detailed information about the course and how the event will be delivered
• Courses for the Cycling Time Trial (Black Country), Marathon (Birmingham) and Triathlon/Para Triathlon (Sutton Coldfield) have also been revealed – details available at birmingham2022.com