Thousands Of Cyclists In County Durham

6 October 2013, 06:00 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

Thousands of cyclists will take to the closed roads of County Durham for Marie Curie Cancer Care Etape Pennines 2013.

The race itself has been described as 'beautiful but brutal', with cyclists taking on more than 2,500 meters of uphill climbing and several exhilarating downhill sections.

The 78 mile ride starts and finishes in Barnard Castle.

Several road closures will be in place for the event - a full list can be found here

The route takes the cyclists across some of the most challenging terrain in Teesdale and Weardale, returning via Hamsterley Forest.