PRE-REGISTRATION for a thriving Essex event is set to close tomorrow following a roaring success in the number of its applicants.

Velo Essex is a hotly anticipated amateur closed-road cycling event and festival coming to the area on Sunday 20 September.

Pre-registration for the event opened just 12 days ago but has seen an unprecedented surge of cyclists applying to take part.

With the number of entrants capped at 15,000, Velo Essex is close to reaching its target and have therefore announced they will close pre-registration at midnight on Wednesday 26 February.

With riders from all over the country expected to attend, those interested in taking part have less than 48 hours to sign up and secure their place in what is shaping up to be the biggest participation event in Essex's history.

The sister event of the hugely successful Vélo Birmingham & Midlands, Velo Essex is steeped in mile upon mile of beautiful rolling countryside.

Harwich and Manningtree Standard:

Essex is renowned as one of the most beautiful places to ride a bike within the UK and Velo Essex hope to show off the best of what Essex has to offer, giving riders their very own 'Grand Tour of Essex'.

100 and 50 mile route options are available with a Free Family Ride and a Cycling Festival within Hylands Park also on offer.

Entry costs for the route are £79 for the 100 mile stage, £49 for the 50 mile stage while the family ride is free.

Building on its history as a host during the 2014 Tour de France, Velo Essex have worked hard to follow parts of the 2014 Stage 3 route, with nearly half of the 100 mile route using the same roads as that stage.

Much of the two stages, which start in Chelmsford’s Hylands Park, travel through towns and villages like, Braintree, Finchingfield, Wethersfield, Toppesfield Dunmow, Bardfield, Saffron Walden and Felstead before looping back to Chelmsford.

To view the routes in full and pre-register for the event, visit at veloessex.com.