THE atmosphere generated by the crowds at the Devon stage of the Tour of Britain was on a par with the Tour de France, race organisers have this week said.

People lined the streets of Okehampton, Hatherleigh, Folly Gate, Sourton and Lydford to cheer on the cyclists racing through Devon. Many people camped out overnight on Dartmoor to claim their space trackside for the 'King of the Mountains' stage of the penultimate day of the tour, the highest climb of the entire race.

Dartmoor National Park, who organised an open top bus viewing point at Rundlestone near Princetown, said Saturday was the best advert for the moor it had ever had.

With Devon rider Jon Tiernan-Locke starting the day in the IG Markets Gold Jersey as the overall leader of the race, the tour through Devon was the perfect opportunity for the home rider to take centre stage. Jon went on to win the tour, no doubt fuelled by the roars from the Devon crowds which he later said was 'amazing'.

'On the two climbs on Dartmoor I couldn't pick out anyone I knew,' he said. 'It was a wall of sound, you just couldn't take it all in.'

Although Tour de France winner and Olympic Time Trial champion Bradley Wiggins was forced out of the tour due to a stomach virus, spectators still got to see World Road Race Champion Mark Cavendish as well as being treated to an aggressive breakaway by former Olympic Road Race Champion Samuel Sanchez and double Giro d'Italia winner Ivan Basso who both finished just yards behind stage winner Pablo Urtasan.

Okehampton celebrated the tour's arrival through the town in style, with a display by stunt rider Kye Forte and his team of riders.

Okehampton Cycles provided free safety checks, while the White Hart Hotel balcony hosted a commentary team as riders raced down Market Street and there was more cycling-related fun and activities for those in the town centre.

Darren Bostock from Okehampton Cycles helped to organise the event.

He said: 'I'm so pleased with how everything went on the day. It was a great atmosphere in the town all morning, with people enjoying the various activities early on. The scooter and bike mini races by OCRA were a great success and we were busy with our bike safety checks right up until the spectactular BMX stunt display team drew everyone's attention away, with their heart stopping high jumps and tricks way up over the heads of the audience.

'The town centre was absolutely packed as the tour approached.

'The police motorcylists and race marshalls all sped into town to start the rolling road blocks, the crowd roared as the initial breakaway group of 10 flew through the town centre, followed a short while later by the peloton and all the support vehicles.

'As we'd hoped, it was a very exciting stage and was much more interesting to watch than last time it passed through Okehampton by a long way.

'A big thank you to everyone involved in making our Okehampton Tour of Britain 2012 event possible, and to all those who turned up to enjoy what turned out to be a fantastic day for Okehampton.'

Cllr Christine Marsh also played a role in organising the events.

She said: 'This was yet again another example of how Okehampton came together and delivered another great day for everyone to enjoy.

'We have had the Jubilee, the Olympics and Paralympics, and the Tour of Britain coming through town was a fantastic way to end the summer.'

Mick Bennett, race director of The Tour of Britain, said: 'That was the best atmosphere I've experienced at a stage in the nine years we've been running The Tour of Britain and it's equal to that of The Tour de France.

'To see crowds of such big proportions was unbelievable. They were Tour de France size crowds.

'For me it was fantastic, the best stage we've ever had.'

The race also went through Tavistock, Merrivale, Princetown and Poundgate. Cycling-related and fun activities continued through the day in many of these communities.

Okehampton organisers expressed thanks to South West Highways, OCRA, the White Hart Hotel, the team who provided and set up the barriers and organised the road closure, and anyone who helped with the morning's activities.