Tour of Britain 2018 Unveiled

The organisers of the 2018 Tour of Britain have revealed the eight stages in this years event which will include the first team time trial which finishes on top of Whinlatter Pass in Cumbria.

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Tour of Britain 2018 Unveiled

The race, which takes place from 2 to 9 September, will include a team time trial for the first time, as well as a summit finish on Whinlatter Pass in Cumbria on Stage Six.

The 1,140-kilometre route will take the world’s top riders from Pembrey Country Park on the Carmarthenshire coast in South Wales to the streets of Central London, via Devon, Bristol, Warwickshire, Cumbria and Nottinghamshire across eight stages of racing.

“This year we have worked hard to create an innovative and unpredictable route, with several surprises in store throughout the race,” said Race Director Mick Bennett. “Several stages have stings in the tail; climbs positioned towards the finale of Stages One, Two and Three will keep the outcome up in the air until the very end.”

“Our partners at Cumbria County Council have helped us to achieve something that we have been keen to do for a number of years on Stage Five – a team time trial that finishes atop Whinlatter Pass. This will be a test like no other, as teams will have to get their equipment choices and tactics spot on. The race may not be won here, but some riders could certainly lose it”.

“In another first for the OVO Energy Tour of Britain, we return to the same climb the following day for a double ascent of our summit finish – although riders will tackle it during a conventional road stage, albeit from its harder eastern side!

“Add in stages in Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire and London, where we’ll build on the successes of last year’s OVO Energy Tour of Britain and OVO Energy Women’s Tour, I cannot wait for the start of September already!”

The first teams to be confirmed to have been invited to the race are: BMC Pro Cycling, Lotto Soudal, Mitchelton Scott, Movistar Team, Quick-Step Floors, Team Dimension Data, Team EF Education First – Drapac, Team Katusha Alpecin, Team Lotto NL Jumbo, Team Sky (all UCI World Tour), Aqua Blue Sport, Direct Energie, Wanty – Groupe Gobert (all UCI Pro Continental) and the Great Britain national team.

The final list of participating teams for the 2018 OVO Energy Tour of Britain will be confirmed week commencing 16 July.

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The OVO Energy Tour of Britain 2018 Route in detail

Stage One:
Sunday 2 September will see the modern Tour visit Carmarthenshire for the first time, as the race gets underway at Pembrey Country Park. Riders will pass through Carmarthen, Brecon and Usk before the stage finish in the city of Newport. Riders will tackle the 800-metre, 9% average gradient climb of Belmont Hill on the outskirts of Newport inside the final 10 kilometres of racing.

Stage Two
After a year’s absence the OVO Energy Tour of Britain returns to the South West of England and its 10th visit to Devon in the past 12 years. The stage (Monday 3 September) will start in the UK’s newest town – Cranbrook – and finish in Barnstaple following a hilly finale along the North Devon coast that includes the one-kilometre, 13% average gradient climb of Challacombe, near Woolacombe.

Stage Three
Bristol will host the third stage of the race (Tuesday 4 September), a short, sharp out-and-back leg into the north Somerset hills that includes Cheddar Gorge. The finish on the Clifton Down is the same one as used by the race in 2014 and 2016, where Michal Kwiatkowski, Tony Martin and Rohan Dennis have taken victories.

Stage Four
This will build on the success of the OVO Energy Women’s Tour’s visit to Warwickshire in 2017 by bringing the men’s race to the county for the first time since 1993 on Wednesday 5 September. The leg will race over 183 kilometres from Nuneaton to Royal Leamington Spa, using many of the same roads that the world’s top women will cover when Britain’s leading women’s stage race returns to the county on 13 June this year.

Stages Five and Six
The race heads to Cumbria and the Lake District for two stages on Thursday 6 and Friday 7 September. The first of which will see an uphill team time trial from Cockermouth town centre to the summit of Whinlatter Pass. The 14-kilometre test gains over 300 metres across its length, with the final five kilometres of the test against the clock averaging 4%.

The following day riders will climb Whinlatter Pass twice more, from its harder eastern side, during a 169-kilometre road stage from Barrow-in-Furness. The second of the ascents up the three-kilometre climb that averages 7% will see the stage finish at the Forestry Commission’s visitor centre.

Stage Seven:
The penultimate stage sees the OVO Energy Tour of Britain return to Nottinghamshire to build upon the success of the 2017 stage in the county. This year’s longest stage of the race heads from West Bridgford to Mansfield, taking in 223 kilometres.

Stage Eight:
The 2018 OVO Energy Tour of Britain concludes with a 14-lap circuit race in the heart of London, using the iconic circuit that the 2015 and 2016 editions finished on, taking in Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall, before the finish on Regent Street St James.
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Stage 1 – Sunday 2 September – Pembrey Country Park to Newport, 175km
Stage 2 – Monday 3 September – Cranbrook to Barnstaple, 174km
Stage 3 – Tuesday 4 September – Bristol to Bristol, 125km
Stage 4 – Wednesday 5 September – Nuneaton to Royal Leamington Spa, 183km
Stage 5 – Thursday 6 September – Cockermouth to Whinlatter Pass, Team Time Trial, 14km
Stage 6 – Friday 7 September – Barrow-in-Furness to Whinlatter Pass, 169km
Stage 7 – Saturday 8 September – West Bridgford to Mansfield, 223km
Stage 8 – Sunday 9 September – The London Stage, 77km

Winners of the Tour of Britain

2017 Lars Boom (Ned)
2016 Steve Cummings (GBr)
2015 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor)
2014 Dylan Van Baarle (Ned)
2013 Sir Bradley Wiggins (GBr)
2012 Nathan Haas (Aus)
2011 Lars Boom (Ned)
2010 Michael Albasini (Swi)
2009 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor)
2008 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra)
2007 Romain Feillu (Fra)
2006 Martin Pedersen (Den)
2005 Nick Nuyens (Bel)
2004 Mauricio Ardila (Col)

KING OF THE MOUNTAINS
2017 Lukasz Owsian (Pol)
2016 Xandro Meurisse (Bel)
2015 Peter Williams (GBr)
2014 Mark McNally (GBr)
2013 Angel Madrazo (Spa)
2012 Kristian House (GBr)
2011 Jonathan Tiernan Locke (GBr)
2010 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned)
2009 Thomas De Gendt (Bel)
2008 Danilo Di Luca (Ita)
2007 Ben Swift (GBr)
2006 Andy Schleck (Lux)
2005 Julian Winn (GBr)
2004 Ben Day (Aus)

POINTS JERSEY
2017 Alexander Kristoff (Nor)
2016 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned)
2015 Owain Doull (GBr)
2014 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol)
2013 Martin Elmiger (Swi)
2012 Boy Van Poppel (Ned)
2011 Geraint Thomas (GBr)
2010 Greg Henderson (NZl)
2009 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor)
2008 Matt Goss (Aus)
2007 Mark Cavendish (GBr)
2006 Mark Cavendish (GBr)
2005 Luca Paolini (Ita)
2004 Julian Dean (NZl

SPRINTS JERSEY
2017 Mark McNally (GBr)
2016 Jasper Bovenhuis (Ned)
2015 Peter Williams (GBr)
2014 Sebastian Lander (Den)
2013 Angel Madrazo (Spa)
2012 Peter Williams (GBr)
2011 Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel)
2010 Michal Golas (Pol)
2009 Thomas De Gendt (Bel)
2008 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor)
2007 Mark Cavendish (GBr)
2006 Johan Van Summeren (Bel)
2005 Eric Baumann (Ger)
2004 Rodney Green (RSA)

Best British Rider
2017 Geraint Thomas
2016 Steve Cummings
2015 Owain Doull
2014 Sir Bradley Wiggins
2013 Sir Bradley Wiggins
2012 David Clarke
2011 Steve Cummings
2010 Rob Partridge
2009 Russell Downing
2008 Steve Cummings
2007 Evan Oliphant
2006 Russell Downing
2005 Yanto Barker
2004 Roger Hammond

COMBATIVITY OVERALL
2017 Graham Briggs (GBr)
2016 Andre Greipel (Ger)
2015 Owain Doull (GBr)
2014 Alex Dowsett (GBr)
2013 Kristian House (GBr)
2012 Mark Cavendish (GBr)

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