Tour of Britain Starts Sunday

The AJ Bell Tour of Britain, the UK’s most prestigious cycle race, returns on Sunday for what promises to be the most spectacular edition to date.

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Tour of Britain Starts Sunday

Eighteen of the world’s leading teams and 108 riders will compete in the eight-day race, which begins in the heart of historic Aberdeen on Sunday (4 September) and will be watched by a roadside audience of over one million spectators, plus many more on ITV4 in the UK.

Home favourites INEOS will be led by Yorkshireman Tom Pidcock, Tokyo 2020 gold medallist and recent Tour de France stage winner. The second most-successful team in race history have also selected former world road race champion Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) and Tour de France podium finisher Richie Porte (Australia) in their line-up. Porte will end his glittering 13-year professional career at the race.

Competing in the race for the first time since 2014, BORA – Hansgrohe will look for success with Nils Politt, Marco Haller and Lukas Pöstlberger. Politt, who was crowned the German road champion in June, won a Tour de France stage in 2021 (ahead of Spaniard Imanol Erviti, who coincidentally will line-up for the Movistar Team in the race). The 28-year-old will return to the race for the first time since the 2019 edition, in which he finished fifth overall.

Austrian rider Haller sprinted to a memorable victory in the BEMER Cyclassics one-day race around Hamburg in mid-August, while compatriot Pöstlberger famously won a stage of the Giro d’Italia in 2017. Politt will be one of seven reigning national road race champions will also display their country’s colours prominently in the race: Felix Großschartner (Austria, BORA – hansgrohe); Filippo Zana (Italy, Bardiani CSF Faizanè); Abner González (Puerto Rico, Movistar Team); Rasmus Tiller (Norway, Uno-X Pro Cycling Team), Rory Townsend (Ireland, Wiv SunGod) and Red Walters (Grenada, Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling).

Israel – Premier Tech have named arguably their strongest-ever line-up for the race, led by two-time Tour de France stage winner Dylan Teuns. The Belgian rider, who has declared his intentions to target the overall victory, will be supported by last year’s fifth placed overall Michael Woods and Briton Alex Dowsett. Dowsett announced last week that he will retire from top-level racing at the end of this season, ending a 12-year professional career that includes one stage victory in his home tour as well as leading the race in 2014.

“Since I decided that I will retire, I have become more excited about the future. It will be fantastic to do this race one last time,” said Dowsett.

Movistar Team’s ninth-consecutive appearance in the race will see American rider Matteo Jorgenson, who finished 21st in this year’s Tour de France, spearhead their attack. Two-time Vuelta a Espana stage winner Imanol Erviti and Madrid-born Gonzalo Serrano, who recorded three top-10 stages finishes en route to placing 11th overall last year, also return to the event. Former Giro d’Italia stage winners Enrico Battaglin and Sacha Modolo will also both return as part of the Italian Bardiani CSF Faizanè team.

The fifth UCI WorldTeam in the event, Team DSM, have selected Dutch sprinter Cees Bol and Australian climber Chris Hamilton as part of their squad. Bol recorded two top-10 finishes at the race in 2019, a year after Hamilton placed ninth overall. Team DSM also include Oscar Onley, one of three Scots in the race who will be racing on home roads during the opening two stages of the AJ Bell Tour of Britain. Onley hails from Kelso in the Scottish Borders and will race through the centre of his hometown during stage two on Monday 5 September.

The opening stage in the northeast of Scotland is as close to home as the race gets for Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Finn Crockett, who is from Inverness. “To have a stage so close to home is brilliant. It is good to have the limelight on the north of Scotland,” said Crockett. “It’s going to be a tough stage up to Glenshee on Sunday and I’m sure the Scottish crowds will turn out. “It’s the biggest race that Ribble Weldtite will do so of course I have my own goals and that’s to get up there in the stages and you’ll hopefully see us in the breakaways flying the Ribble colours.”

Completing the line is Calum Johnston who will race for the Caja Rural – Seguros RGA team. Johnston said: “This is my first Tour of Britain and it’s going to be super special as the first two stages are in Scotland. It is a very important race for me, I am going to compete close to my family, friends and all the people who support me, which motivates me extra to give my best here.

“The first stage in Aberdeen is the most difficult, so much so that I think it will be decisive for the general classification. The final climb to Glenshee is very tough and I think it will cause a big gap between the favourites.”

A strong Great Britain national team will feature Connor Swift, the British road race champion in 2019, recent Tour de l’Ain stage winner Jake Stewart and emerging star Sam Watson. Britain’s four domestic teams, all of whom will look for ways to showcase themselves, will also be on the start line in Aberdeen. Wiv SunGod are the most successful of the quartet, having claimed the Sportsbreaks.com sprints jersey in the past three editions. Last year’s winner, Jacob Scott, doubled up spectacularly in 2021 by also winning the ŠKODA King of the Mountains prize. He and the aforementioned Townsend headline the team’s line-up.

Alex Richardson, who placed third at the British Cycling National Road Championships in June and won the recent Ryedale GP in North Yorkshire, will lead Saint Piran’s charge in the race. TRINITY Racing, who are managed by two-time stage winner Ian Stannard, have named former American criterium champion Luke Lamperti, who came fourth at Warrington in the AJ Bell Tour of Britain last September.

British track stars Charlie and Harry Tanfield will race through their home village of Great Ayton, North Yorkshire, on stage four of the race. The siblings have been selected to race for Ribble Weldtite, whose line-up also features Nottinghamshire’s Ross Lamb, another rider who will enjoy a home stage during the Tour.

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RIDERS

INEOS Grenadiers
1. PIDCOCK Thomas GBR
2. AMADOR Andrey CRC
3. FRAILE MATARRANZ Omar ESP
4. KWIATKOWSKI Michal POL
5. PORTE Richie AUS
6. SHEFFIELD Magnus USA

Team DSM
11. BOL Cees NED
12. HAMILTON Christopher AUS
13. HEINSCHKE Leon GER
14. MAYRHOFER Marius GER
15. ONLEY Oscar GBR
16. POOLE Max GBR

Israel – Premier Tech
21. TEUNS Dylan BEL
22. DOWSETT Alex GBR
23. HOLLYMAN Mason GBR
24. HOLLENSTEIN Reto SUI
25. STRONG Corbin NZL
26. WOODS Michael CAN

Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling
31. CROCKETT Finn GBR
32. WALTERS Red GRN
33. KYFFIN Zeb GBR
34. LAMB Ross GBR
35. TANFIELD Charlie GBR
36. TANFIELD Harry GBR

Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB
41. ANIOLKOWSKI Stanislaw POL
42. DESAL Ceriel BEL
43. MEENS Johan BEL
44. MOLLY Kenny BEL
45. PAASSCHENS Mathijs NED
46. PEYSKENS Dimitri BEL

Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
51. PRADES Eduard ESP
52. BARCELO Fernando ESP
53. BARRENETXEA Jon ESP
54. JOHNSTON Calum GBR
55. MARTIN GALAN Sergio Roman ESP
56. NICOLAU BELTRAN Joel ESP

Human Powered Health
61. GIBSON Matthew GBR
62. AASVOLD Kristian NOR
63. BASSETT Stephen USA
64. JENSEN August NOR
65. MANNION Gavin USA
66. ROSSKOPF Joseph USA

BORA – Hansgrohe
71. POLITT Nils GER
72. ARCHBOLD Shane NZL
73. GROSSSCHARTNER Felix AUT
74. HALLER Marco AUT
75. MEEUS Jordi BEL
76. PÖSTLBERGER Lukas AUT

Wiv SunGod
81. SCOTT Jacob GBR
82. BROWN Jim GBR
83. PERRY Benjamin CAN
84. SCOTT Robert GBR
85. TEGGART Matthew IRL
86. TOWNSEND Rory GBR

Bardiani CSF Faizane’
91. ZANA Filippo ITA
92. BATTAGLIN Enrico ITA
93. FIORELLI Filippo ITA
94. GABBURO Davide ITA
95. MARCELLUSI Martin ITA
96. MODOLO Sacha ITA

Movistar Team
101. ELOSEGUI MOMEÑE Iñigo ESP
102. GONZÁLEZ RIVERA Abner PUR
103. JORGENSON Matteo USA
104. ERVITI Imanol ESP
105. RODRIGUEZ GARAICOECHEA Oscar ESP
106. SERRANO RODRIGUEZ Gonzalo ESP

Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
111. CHARMIG Anthon DEN
112. JOHANNESSEN Anders Halland NOR
113. URIANSTAD Martin Bugge NOR
114. LARSEN Niklas DEN
115. TILLER Rasmus NOR
116. SKAARSETH Anders NOR

Saint Piran
121. RICHARDSON Alexandar GBR
122. LEWIS Adam GBR
123. MAZZONE Leon GBR
124. BIRCHILL Harry GBR
125. SAYERS Cooper AUS
126. ROOTKIN-GRAY Jack GBR

Global 6 Cycling
131. MITRI James NZL
132. WATTS Kiaan NZL
133. SUNDERLAND Dylan AUS
134. SESSLER Nicolas BRA
135. PELTONEN Ukko FIN
136. SCHUNK Conor USA

Team Qhubeka
141. ABREHA Negasi Haylu ETH
142. ARAYA Nahom ERI
143. COATI Luca ITA
144. IACCHI Alessandro ITA
145. PARISINI Nicolo’ ITA
146. STEDMAN Travis RSA

Great Britain
151. SWIFT Connor GBR
152. DONALDSON Robert GBR
153. STEWART Jake GBR
154. WATSON Sam GBR
155. GIDDINGS Joshua GBR
156. CHARLTON Josh GBR

Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise
161. BONNEU Kamiel FRA
162. DE VYLDER Lindsay BEL
163. MERTENS Julian BEL
164. VAN POUCKE Aaron BEL
165. VAN ROOY Kenneth BEL
166. VANHOOF Ward BEL

TRINITY Racing
171. LAMPERTI Luke USA
172. CULVERWELL Sam GBR
173. GLOAG Thomas GBR
174. NERURKAR Lukas GBR
175. REES Oliver GBR
176. JOHNSTON Liam AUS

The 2022 race starts in Aberdeen on Sunday 4 September and culminates with what promises to be a spectacular finale on the Isle of Wight eight stages later on Sunday 11 September. Along the way riders will tackle stages in the Scottish Borders, North East England, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Gloucestershire and Dorset.

ITV4 will continue to broadcast live flag-to-flag coverage of every stage and nightly highlights show, allowing fans in the UK to watch wherever they are. The race will also be shown in over 150 countries worldwide, thanks to the event’s partnerships with Eurosport and the Global Cycling Network.

While spectators can watch all the action by the roadside for free, race day hospitality packages offering guaranteed prime views of stage starts and finishes, as well as unforgettable experiences featuring Tour de France stage winner Dan Martin are now available. Visit sportsbreaks.com/Cycling and destinationsportexperiences.com/Cycling/Hospitality for more information.

Stages
Stage one Sunday 4 September Aberdeen to Glenshee Ski Centre
Stage two Monday 5 September Hawick to Duns
Stage three Tuesday 6 September Durham to Sunderland
Stage four Wednesday 7 September Redcar to Duncombe Park, Helmsley
Stage five Thursday 8 September West Bridgford to Mansfield
Stage six Friday 9 September Tewkesbury to Gloucester
Stage seven Saturday 10 September West Bay to Ferndown
Stage eight Sunday 11 September Ryde to The Needles

Teams
UCI WorldTeams: BORA – hansgrohe (Germany), INEOS Grenadiers (Great Britain), Israel – Premier Tech (Israel), Movistar Team (Spain), Team DSM (Netherlands)
UCI ProTeams: Bardiani CSF Faizanè (Italy), Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB (Belgium), Caja Rural – Seguros RGA (Spain), Human Powered Health (USA), Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise (Belgium) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team (Norway)
UCI Continental Teams: Global 6 Cycling (New Zealand), Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling (Great Britain), Saint Piran (Great Britain), Team Qhubeka (Italy), TRINITY Racing (Great Britain), Wiv SunGod (Great Britain)
National Teams: Great Britain Cycling Team

Relaunched in 2004 after a five-year absence from the calendar, the AJ Bell Tour of Britain is British Cycling’s premier road cycling event, held annually across eight days in September. The free-to-watch sporting spectacular features Olympic, world and Tour de France champions, and attracts a roadside audience of over 1.5m spectators. Live coverage of the race is shown daily in the UK on ITV4, in addition to around the world. The AJ Bell Tour of Britain is part of the UCI ProSeries, making it one of the most prestigious sporting events in the sport’s global calendar.



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