Residents, spectators and drivers have got one week left to plan their journeys as the countdown to Ironman Weymouth begins.

Road closures in areas of Weymouth, Purbeck and west Dorset will affect travel on Sunday 17 September.

This year Ironman is returning to the area with a shorter 70.3 distance race, meaning roads will open much earlier than during last year’s full distance event.

Travel planning information, including all the road closures and restrictions, is available online at www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk

Councillor Daryl Turner, cabinet member for the natural and built environment, said: “We’re excited to have Ironman back in Dorset for this prestigious event which attracts athletes from across the country and gives our local athletes an opportunity to compete on home soil.

“Our traffic control centre will be operating on the day and will endeavour to provide residents and drivers with information via our @TravelDorset Twitter account as the roads are reopened.

“We’ve been working closely with Ironman and this year there’ll be 44 of our highways staff at some of the most crucial marshalling points, to ensure local knowledge and highway information is available.

“This is a valuable event for our economy and it showcases our magnificent county to the thousands of sports enthusiasts who are part of the Ironman family, who may choose to come and stay and train in Dorset. Good luck to all those competing.”

The course route is being closed to ensure the safety of participants and other road users. Ironman has been engaging with residents and care workers to help them plan access to where they may need to be on the day.

Alan Rose, Ironman 70.3 Weymouth race director, said: “Learning from last year’s event, we’ve been working with Dorset County Council to ensure residents have the information they need to plan their journeys. Care workers have also had the opportunity to apply for a pass to ensure we maintain access to the more vulnerable members of the community.

“It’s great to be returning to Dorset and we’ve got 2,700 athletes taking part – making it the biggest Ironman event in the UK and Ireland, and the second biggest in Europe!

“They’ve been training hard for months and will be giving it their all on the day. It’ll be a great race and we look forward to seeing spectators out in force as usual to cheer on their efforts.”

Lodmoor car park and the Pavilion Car Park in Weymouth will be closed for the event and there will also be some on-road parking restrictions in the town. For all the restrictions during the race visit www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk