FAMILIES and bike fans lined the streets of Tendring to cheer on hundreds of fundraising cyclists as they took on this year’s Tour de Tendring.

The annual cross- district bike ride, which is now in its 26th year, set off from Dovercourt Bay Lifestyles leisure centre at around 8.30am on Sunday.

It saw budding pedal-pushers tackle either a six, 20 or 60-mile route and pass through Clacton, Great Bentley, St Osyth, Harwich and Great Oakley before concluding back in Dovercourt.

Despite the throng of competitive bikers all vying for a first-place finish, the family-friendly road race didn’t feature any serious crashes or injuries and sportingly raised what is likely to be thousands of pounds for the Essex Wildlife Trust.

Tour de Tendring event manager Euan Scott-Batey said: “It was the perfect day for cycling.

“It was warm but with a lovely breeze and enough cloud cover to stop the riders from getting burnt.

“We had 450 cyclists take part, some of which were from the local area.

“Some have also travelled quite a distance to take part.

“There were your usual bumps and grazes and there is always a few people who fall off or bike into each other.

“But thankfully medics haven’t had to attend to anything serious.

“All in all, it’s been a great success.”