From rubbing shoulders with Bradley Wiggins to pipping the peloton, four Hartpury students got the chance to work alongside the world’s cycling superstars at the FriendsLife Tour of Britain, writes Emma Smith.

The Sports Business Management degree students were offered a unique work experience opportunity supporting the UK’s largest professional cycle race earlier this month.

The students were working for SweetSpot – the sports events and marketing company behind the successful revival of the race. While Jack Wakefield was involved in the logistical planning and branding for the race, former Shortwood captain Jake Parrott, Grace Maddox and Lona Price-Jones picked up Public Relations, Sales and Sponsorship.

Provided with a Tour of Britain car, they had to keep ahead of the peloton and go to towns on the routes to sell the tour programmes.

Grace said: “The experience made me realise the direction I want my career to take – top level sport, thousands of people, sales and me in a team making it happen! The event was an inspiration and even now I'm still moving out of the way of cyclists expecting a police convoy to be speeding past with a huge peloton of 200 riders!” Stage four of the race saw the teams cycling through Gloucestershire, beginning in Winchcombe, through Cheltenham, Painswick, Stroud and Nailsworth, before heading through South Gloucestershire.

Jake said: “The Tour was brilliant and really helped us use everything we had learned in our degree and apply it to real life work experience. To be involved in such a prestigious sports event has really furthered my desire to secure a job in the sporting sector. The experience led to me meeting some great people and making some really helpful contacts.”

The opportunity for the students was secured by Hartpury lecturer Mike Green through Jeremy Evans, who has worked for the Tour of Britain before and is a regular guest speaker on modules on the Sports Business Management programme.

Lona added: “It was a real eye opener into the world of cycling along and into how much work goes into the organisation of big sporting events.

“It was great to see how different towns across the country were brought together by the race. The last stage in London was amazing as it went through Westminster down to Embankment so the crowds were great.”

For more information on the Sports courses available at Hartpury – from BTEC Diplomas through to Foundation and Honours degree and postgraduate study, go to www.hartpury.ac.uk