Tour of Britain News: Provisional Startlist

Cavendish, Alaphilippe, Hayter, Wout Van Aert, Dan Martin, Connor Swift, James Shaw some of the names in the provisional startlist for the Tour of Britain that starts in Cornwall on Sunday

Tour of Britain News: Provisional Startlist

British sporting heroes, Tokyo 2020 medallists, world champions and former stage and jersey winners will all feature in this year’s Tour of Britain (Sunday 5 – 12 September). Just days out from the start of the race and first-ever stage to take place in Cornwall, provisional line-ups for the 18 competing teams have been made public for the first time.

Among those competing are:
— Sprinter Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck – Quick-Step), winner of the most stages in modern Tour of Britain history
— Tokyo 2020 medallists Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo – Visma), Ethan Hayter and Rohan Dennis (INEOS Grenadiers)
— Reigning UCI road world champion Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step)
— Former Tour of Britain stage winners Michal Kwiatkowski (INEOS Grenadiers), André Greipel, Alex Dowsett, Matthias Brändle (Israel Start – Up Nation) and Tony Martin (Team Jumbo – Visma)
Cycling stars Marc Soler (Movistar Team), Dan Martin, Michael Woods (Israel Start – Up Nation) and Richie Porte (INEOS Grenadiers)
— Four of the race’s former ŠKODA King of the Mountains winners: Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin – Fenix), Lukasz Owsian (Team Arkéa – Samsic), Nic Dlamini (Team Qhubeka NextHash) and Jacob Scott (Canyon dhb SunGod)
— Five reigning national road race champions, four reigning time trial champions
— 20 different nationalities represented

Wout van Aert

Deceuninck – Quick-Step, the most successful team in modern Tour of Britain history, will be led by fan favourites Cavendish and Alaphilippe. The Manxman won the last three of his 10 stage victories in the race riding for the Belgian team in the 2013 edition, and returns to Britain after a spectacular Tour de France in which he won four stages and the points jersey.

Frenchman Alaphilippe, who will be easily distinguishable to roadside spectators owing to his world champion’s rainbow jersey, has been tipped by many to repeat the overall victory he achieved in the 2018 race.

Van Aert, winner of three Tour de France stages in July and silver medallist in the Olympic road race, spearheads Jumbo-Visma’s team. Alongside Kiwi climber and Grand Tour top-10 finisher George Bennett, Norwegian road race champion Tobias Foss and Australian all-rounder Chris Harper, van Aert is one of four riders in their squad who will make their Tour of Britain debuts in 2021.

World champion Julian Alaphilippe

INEOS have once again named a strong team for the Tour of Britain, led by Londoner, Tokyo 2020 silver medallist and recent Tour of Norway winner Ethan Hayter. Polish rider Michal Kwiatkowski and Welshman Owain Doull are both former Tour of Britain podium finishers; Kwiatkowski and Australian Rohan Dennis have also previously won stages of the UK’s biggest bike race. Richie Porte, third overall at the 2020 Tour de France, returns to the event for the first time since his 2010 debut.

Three Tour of Britain stage winners – André Greipel, Matthias Brändle and Briton Alex Dowsett – feature in Israel Start – Up Nation’s powerful line-up. The Tour will be one of the final races of Greipel’s prestigious 16-year career, during which time he has claimed over 150 victories. The German sprinter has remarkably won at least one stage in each of his four visits to the Tour of Britain, amassing seven victories in total.

He is also one of only five men in modern race history to have won stages in England, Scotland and Wales. Brändle won back-to-back stages in the 2014 Tour, the first of which came in Exeter, which hosts the finish of stage two on Monday 6 September, while Essex rider Dowsett triumphed in our London individual time trial 10 years ago. Irish star Dan Martin and Canadian Michael Woods add to the team’s tactical options.

Ethan Hayter

Other stars competing include trailblazer Nic Dlamini (Team Qhubeka NextHash), who became the first black South African to compete in the Tour de France in 2021, renowned stage race talent Marc Soler (Movistar Team) and 2018 British road race champion Connor Swift (Team Arkéa-Samsic).

In addition to INEOS, six other home squads will be in action at the 2021 Tour of Britain: Canyon dhb SunGod, Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling, Saint Piran, SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling, TRINITY Racing and a Great Britain national team.

Canyon dhb SunGod’s six-man team includes Scott and Rory Townsend, winners of the ŠKODA King of the Mountains and Eisberg sprints jerseys in the 2019 race. The Cornish Saint Piran will make their Tour of Britain debut on home roads, with local rider Steve Lampier appearing in their six-rider squad. SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling’s roster for their second appearance in the race includes former Team Sky rider and paracyclist Will Bjergfelt.

Highly-rated Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling rider James Shaw is enjoying a fantastic season, having already finished fifth in the Tours of Slovenia and Norway, while TRINITY Racing’s line-up includes hotly-tipped Irish road race champion Ben Healy.

James Shaw of Ribble Cycles/Weldtite

Tour of Britain race director Mick Bennett said: “The fact that we were unable to run the Tour of Britain in 2020 was enough to raise the excitement level going into this year’s event. Yet, combined with the truly spectacular and challenging route we’ve designed, the quality of this year’s start list makes me believe that we’re about to witness one of the most exciting editions of the modern race to date. We look forward to seeing the roads of Great Britain lined with spectators all the way from Penzance to Aberdeen, and I would encourage everybody planning to attend the race to respect their fellow spectators and, of course, the riders, as well as following local COVID-19 guidance. See you all next week – I can’t wait!”

Deceuninck – Quick-Step rider Mark Cavendish said: “It is always an honour to race on the home roads of the Tour of Britain. It is a race where I have always enjoyed success and I am really looking forward to racing with what I know will be a strong Deceuninck – Quick-Step team. It has already been a special year for me and riding the Tour of Britain will be a great way to see so many of the people who have supported me throughout.”

World champion Julian Alaphilippe said: “I am really looking forward to racing the Tour of Britain, which will be my last in the rainbow jersey, that I have been so proud to wear for the last 12 months. I had a successful race in Britain the last time I was there in 2018, and I know it will be a hard-fought race this time. It will be the perfect race for me to take on, ahead of the world championships. We come here with a strong team and will look to race hard, as we always do.”

Following the Tour’s opening stage in Cornwall, the route will take the riders for a gruelling day of racing in Devon that features 3,499m of climbing between Sherford and Exeter. Stage three sees Carmarthenshire host an 18.2-kilometre team time trial before the famous Great Orme in Llandudno hosts stage four’s hill-top finish.

A first-ever stage finish in Warrington is followed by an undulating cross-Pennine trek from Carlisle to Gateshead on stage six, which the finish taking place in the shadows of the award-winning Angel of the North sculpture. The race ends with two Scottish stages; the 2021 champion will be crowned in Aberdeen on Sunday 12 September.

The Tour of Britain is shown live and in full on ITV4, as well as in over 150 countries around the world, and attracts an annual roadside audience of over 1.4 million fans.

… Startlist and stages follow after advert …

Alpecin – Fenix
1 Xandro Meurisse BEL
2 Silvan Dilllier SUI
3 Jimmy Janssens BEL
4 Ben Tulett GBR
5 Alexandar Richardson GBR
6 Kristian Sbaragli ITA

Deceuninck – Quick-Step
11 Mark Cavendish GBR
12 Julian Alaphilippe FRA
13 Davide Ballerini ITA
14 Tim Declercq BEL
15 Mikkel Honoré DEN
16 Yves Lampaert BEL

INEOS
21 Ethan Hayter GBR
22 Rohan Dennis AUS
23 Owain Doull GBR
24 Michal Kwiatowski POL
25 Carlos Rodriguez ESP
26 Richie Porte AUS

Team Jumbo – Visma
31 Wout Van Aert BEL
32 George Bennett NZL
33 Chris Harper AUS
34 Pascal Eenkhoorn NED
35 Tobias Foss NOR
36 Tony Martin GER

Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
41 Jokin Murguialday ESP
42 Jon Barrenetxea ESP
43 Josu Etxeberria ESP
44 David González ESP
45 Sergio Roman Martín ESP
46 Joel Nicolau ESP

Great Britain
51 Rhys Britton GBR
52 Alfie George GBR
53 Max Rushby GBR
54 William Tidball GBR
55 Ethan Vernon GBR
56

Global 6 Cycling
61 Antoine Berlin MON
62 Hans Becking NED
63 Dan Erik Hansen NOR
64 James Mitri NZL
65 Michal Paluta POL
66 Nicolas Sessler BRA

Rally Cycling
71 Joey Rosskopf USA
72 Robin Carpenter USA
73 Colin Joyce USA (CiCLE Classic winner)
74 Gavin Mannion USA
75 Kyle Murphy USA
76 Nickolas Zukowsky CAN

Canyon dhb SunGod (unconfirmed)
81 Rory Townsend IRL
82 Matt Bostock GBR
83 Ryan Christensen NZL
84 Thomas Mein GBR
85 Jacob Scott GBR
86 Max Stedman GBR

Israel Start – Up Nation
91 Dan Martin IRL
92 Patrick Bevin NZL
93 Matthias Brändle AUT
94 Alessandro De Marchi ITA
95 Alex Dowsett GBR
96 Michael Woods CAN
Andre Greipel will replace one of the above

Team Arkéa – Samsic
101 Connor Swift GBR
102 Maxime Bouet FRA
103 Miguel Eduardo Flórez COL
104 Dan McLay GBR
105 Lukasz Owsian POL
106 Bram Welten NED

Movistar Team
111 Marc Soler ESP
112 Jorge Arcas ESP
113 TBC TBC
114 Gabriel Cullaigh GBR
115 Matteo Jorgenson USA
116 Gregor Mühlberger AUT

Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling
121 James Shaw GBR
122 Dan Bingham GBR
123 Matt Gibson GBR
124 Gruff Lewis GBR
125 Charles Page GBR
126 Simon Wilson GBR

Team DSM
131 Mark Donovan GBR
132 Romain Combaud FRA
133 Nils Eekhoff NED
134 Max Kanter GER
135 Tim Naberman NED
136 Nicholas Roche IRL

Saint Piran
141 Steve Lampier GBR
142 Ross Holland GBR
143 Oliver Maxwell GBR
144 Tom Mazzone GBR
145 Leon Mazzone GBR
146 Bradley Symonds GBR

Team Qhubeka NextHash
151 Nic Dlamini RSA
152 Carlos Barbero ESP
153 Sean Bennett USA
154 Simon Clarke AUS
155 Mauro Schmid SUI
156 Lukasz Wisniowski POL

SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling
161 Chris Latham GBR
162 Will Bjergfelt GBR
163 Ross Lamb GBR
164 Andy Turner Gbr
165 Oliver Peckover GBR
166 Alex Peters GBR

TRINITY Racing
171 Thomas Gloag GBR
172 Luke Lamperti GBR
173 Ben Healy IRL
174 Rudy Porter USA
175 Chris Blevins GBR
176 Max Walker GBR

STAGES
Stage 1: Sun 05 — Penzance to Bodmin 180.8km
Stage 2: Mon 06 — Sherford to Exeter 183.9km
Stage 3: Tue 07 — Carmarthenshire team time trial 18.2km
Stage 4: Wed 08 — Aberaeron to Great Orme, Llandudno 210km
Stage 5: Thu 09 — Alderley Park to Warrington 152.2km
Stage 6: Fri 10 — Carlisle to Gateshead 198km
Stage 7: Sat 11 — Hawick to Edinburgh 194.8km
Stage 8: Sun 12 — Stonehaven to Aberdeen 173km