The University of Lincoln has been confirmed as the main sponsor of Lincoln’s 58th annual grand prix cycle race.

The University of Lincoln Grand Prix will take place on Sunday May 12th 2013 and is expected to be a significant event in the season long British Cycling Premier Calendar series of six major races.

The University of Lincoln has supported the event for several years and was the main sponsor in 2012, in the year that British sport took centre stage globally with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The University of Lincoln will again be the main event sponsor next year and this status is reflected in the title of the 2013 event which becomes 'The University of Lincoln Grand Prix Cycle Race'.

Elly Sample, Director of Communications, Development and Marketing at the University of Lincoln, said: “The grand prix cycle race is a wonderful event which has been bringing world-class athletes to the City for more than half a century and continues to generate huge interest both within the region and across the cycling community. We are very proud and excited to be able to continue supporting the race through our sponsorship in 2013.”

Race Organiser Ian Emmerson welcomed the University's continued support for the event and looked forward to seeing all the UK's major teams in the City to contest the title over 13 laps of the eight mile circuit based on Lincoln's tourist and Cathedral and Castle areas.

The City of Lincoln Council will also continue its support for this major sporting event in the City's calendar which brings thousands of fans to the streets of the City and especially to the 1 in 6 cobbled Michaelgate to cheer on the riders.

The 3rd Lincoln Grand Prix Sportive will be held on the day before the Grand Prix. This attracted a huge entry in its first two years and a target of 1,000 seems feasible for the third event to be held next year on Saturday May 11th. Similar routes and distances to 2012 will again be on offer and entries can now be made on the event web site.

As usual 'the sting in the tail' will be the climb of 1 in 6 cobbled Michaelgate to reach the finish line in Lincoln's Castle Square at the heart of the City's tourist areas surrounding the magnificient Cathedral and Castle.