RACE PREVIEW TOUR OF BRITAIN

WITH A STELLAR LINE-UP AND A TOUGH ROUTE TO TACKLE, THIS YEAR’S RACE SHOULD PROVE TO BE A CLASSIC

- Steve Puddicombe, James Shrubsall, Vern Pitt

108 NUMBER OF RIDERS

€117,140 TOTAL PRIZE FUND

3,482M CLIMBING ON THE HILLIEST STAGE, STAGE TWO

1,310KM TOTAL RACE DISTANCE

18,821M CLIMBING OVER THE COURSE OF THE RACE

STAGE 1

SUNDAY, 5 SEPTEMBER

PENZANCE >BODMIN 180.8KM

Not far from where travellers start the famous Land’s End to John o’ Groats challenge spanning the entire length of the nation, Penzance will host the beginning of the riders’ own long journey northwards through Britain this week. This is the Tour of Britain’s first visit to Cornwall, and it makes up for lost time by visiting many of the region’s most famous sights and seaside resorts, from St Ives in the west to Falmouth in the east to Newquay in the north.

Wind might have been a factor had the route stuck to the coastline, but instead it zigzags from coast to coast and remains mostly inland, safe from the autumnal coastal breezes. That means that, despite a rolling parcours, the bunch isn’t likely to be reduced much come the uphill finish at Bodmin. A gradient averaging 5% in the final kilometre is unlikely to instil as much fear in the riders as the mythical Beast of Bodmin Moor used to in locals a few decades ago, but it will be enough to favour the punchier finishers like Wout van Aert over pure sprinters like Mark Cavendish, even if the road does level out for the final few hundred metres.

Where to watch

The climbs of Zennor and Rosewall Hill are tackled within quick succession before the arrival into St Ives, and offer some great seaside views.

STAGE 2

MONDAY, 6 SEPTEMBER

SHERFORD >EXETER 1 83.9KM