The countdown to the Sussex Stage of this year’s Tour of Britain has begun.

With just over a month to go until some of the world’s best take on the rolling countryside of the South Downs, local pro Felix England checked out the final climb before the finish in Brighton.

The Rapha Condor JLT rider met dignities at the top of Ditchling Beacon which will prove to be a tough test when the race passes through on September 13.

He was joined by the chair of the economic development and culture committee at Brighton and Hove City Council, Geoffrey Bowden, as well as the local authority’s lead member for transport Ian Davey. The seventh stage of the race will go from Camberley to Brighton on September 13.