here was a surprising lack of stick-on sideburns, but the huge support for Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish as the Tour of Britain began in Suffolk surprised no-one.

Wiggins, a four-time Olympic gold medallist and Tour de France winner, and Cavendish, the reigning world road race champion and BBC Sports Personality of the Year, had a magnetic appeal as thousands of spectators turned out at Ipswich Waterfront.

By 08:00 BST, two hours before the first stage started, the viewing area near the start line was already packed, and further down the marina people stood patiently waiting for the teams.

Free hats and flags were given out by the first teams to arrive and soon a sea of green hats added to the colour of the Waterfront, which provided an idyllic backdrop for the start of the race between 100 riders over a 1,349.9km course.

When Team Sky arrived shortly before 09:00 their black coach was quickly surrounded.

"It's not every day you get to see your heroes," said Lewis Knights, a keen cyclist from Ipswich who a day earlier had ridden the route the professionals are tackling on the first stage in aid of charity.



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MLB Hats