BICYCLING
Words: Stuart Pickering ǀ Photos: Tour of Britain
Stellar line-up for Tour of Britain 2013
Starting from 15 September 2013, the 10th Tour oN Britain is the UK's largest professional bicycle race and one of the highlights of the British sporting calendar. It begins in
the north of the country at Peebles, Scotland, moving down through Wales and ending in London. The race will cover a total of 1,045 km in eight stages.
Tour of Britian - Stage 6
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The event dates back to the first British stage races that were held just after the Second World War and since then various different events have been described as the Tour of Britain, including the Milk Race, the Kellogg's Tour of Britain, and the PruTour. The current version of the Tour of Britain began in 2004, and the race is part of the UCI Europe Tour and categorised as a UCI 2.1 race.
The eight-day race will see the largest ever field assembled, with 114 riders from 19 teams set to start. Some of the Pro Tour teams taking part are will be Cannondale, Garmin, OPQS, and Sky, as well as six Pro Continental teams, including South Africa’s Team MTN Qhubeka, and six UCI Continental teams, with a British team making up the field. Movistar is making their debut at the Tour and riders such as Bradley Wiggins, who is leading Team Sky, Bernie Eisel, Mark Cavendish, Nairo Quintana, and Allessandro Petacchi will be taking part. Between these riders, they have won 100 Grand Tour stages, whilst Cavendish and Petacchi are two of only five riders in history to have won the points classification in all three Grand Tours. Mick Bennett, race director for the Tour of Britain, said this about the field of riders, "We have world-class sprinters like Mark Cavendish and Team MTN Qhubeka’s Gerald Ciolek, the very best time trialists in Sir Bradley Wiggins and Alex Dowsett, and exceptional climbing talents in Nairo Quintana and Dan Martin, plus many others who I could mention."
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An elite women's Westminster Grand Prix will form part of the final day of this September's Tour of Britain, bringing the UK's top racers to the Whitehall circuit, which includes Downing Street and Northumberland Avenue, heading along the Embankment and through the shadow of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. The final corner will bring riders through Parliament Square and back into Whitehall, in front of the massed crowds awaiting the arrival of the men’s race. This is a fantastic opportunity for spectators to see some of Britain's top female cyclists in action during the final-day celebrations in London. Interesting stages this year include stage two - the longest in the race's history; stage six - features the race's first-ever summit finish; and stage three - an individual time trial and something absent in the previous editions. Cycling fans the world over are eager to see how this year's race pans out over the eight stages and who will manage to replace Britain’s Jonathan TiernanLocke, who is not defending his title, and claim the IG Markets Gold Jersey for their own. The stage has been set for a great race.
Leigh Howard winning at Knowsley.
Tour of Britain 2013: Stages
Stage Date 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Course
Distance
Type
15 Sept
Peebles - Drumlanrig Castle
201 km
Flat stage
16 Sept
Carlisle - Kendal
225 km
Medium-mountain stage
17 Sept
Knowsley - Knowsley
16 km
Individual time trial
18 Sept
Stoke-on-Trent - Llanberis
191 km
Hilly stage
19 Sept
Machynlleth - Caerphilly
177 km
Medium-mountain stage
20 Sept
Sidmouth - Haytor
137 km
Medium-mountain stage
21 Sept
Epsom - Guildford
150 km
Hilly stage
22 Sept
Sidmouth - Haytor
88 km
Flat stage
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Fast facts: Tour of Britain: Previous winners 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
Jonathan Tiernan-Locke (Great Britain) Lars Boom (Netherlands) Michael Albasini (Switzerland) Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway) Geoffroy Lequatre (France) Romain Feillu (France) Martin Pedersen (Denmark) Nick Nuyens (Belgium) Mauricio Ardila (Colombia]
Teams UCI World Tour teams • • • • •
Cannondale Pro Cycling (ITA) Garmin-Sharp (USA) Movistar (SPA) Omega Pharma-QuickStep (BEL) Team Sky (GBR)
UCI Pro Continental teams • • • • • •
Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox (ITA) IAM Cycling (SWI) MTN Qhubeka p.b Samsung (RSA) Sojasun (FRA) Team NetApp-Endura (GER) United Healthcare Pro Cycling (USA)
UCI Continental teams • • • • • • •
An Post-Chain Reaction (IRL) Madison-Genesis (GBR) Node4 Giordana Racing (GBR) Rapha Condor JLT (GBR) Team IG-Sigma Sport (GBR) Team Raleigh (GBR) Team UK Youth (GBR)
National team • Great Britain (GBR)
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The route through the Scottish Borders.
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Stage 8 finish
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For more information on the Tour of Britain, visit www.tourofbritain.co.uk
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