The 2007 South West Tour of Britain stage began at the Fleet Air Museum

Somerset County Council has announced that it will host the South West Stage of the Tour of Britain for the second time on Tuesday 9 September.

The race will start from Chard in the south of the county and will finish in the north at Burnham-on-Sea.

Tour of Britain technical director, Mick Bennett said: "Somerset set a new standard for the event in 2007."

Over 70,000 spectators watched the Tour in Somerset last year, the highlight being the sprint finish in Taunton.

Britain's premier cycle race has been taking place in Somerset

Bennett described that stage as: "the best day ever seen in British cycle racing, on a par with the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia."

The South West route will be unveiled in full on 28 April.

Nikolai Trusov won the South West stage after a sprint finish (Getty)

The race will also be supported by Devon County Council, Exmoor National Park Authority and South Somerset District Council.

Cllr Jill Shortland, leader of Somerset County Council said:

"The success of the first ever South West stage of the Tour of Britain exceeded our expectations and we are confident that the 2008 stage will be even better.

"The impact it has had on the local economy, the profile it has created for our county and the promotion of cycling is profound."