TOUR OF BRITAIN NEWS – THE TEAMS

Lloyds Tour of Britain Men organisers have today announced the 19-team field for this September’s race, headlined by the debut of multiple Tour de France winning squads, and the world’s number one ranked team, UAE Team Emirates – XRG.

TOUR OF BRITAIN NEWS — WORLD’S TOP TEAMS HEAD TO BRITAIN THIS SEPTEMBER —- Lloyds Tour of Britain Men organisers have today announced the 19-team field for this September’s race, headlined by the debut of multiple Tour de France winning squads, and the world’s number one ranked team, UAE Team Emirates – XRG.

Thirteen of the teams participating in the Men’s Tour of Britain were in action during the Tour de France, winning 16 of the 21 stages between them.

Nine top tier UCI World Teams will contest the race, which begins from Woodbridge in East Suffolk on Tuesday 2 September, the most that have raced in Britain’s national Tour since 2019. Lidl-Trek and Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale both return to the race after an absence of several years, while the Groupama FDJ are the second UCI World Team due to make their race debut in September.

All three of the most successful teams in the history of the modern Men’s Tour of Britain will be a part of this year’s line-up, with Soudal Quick-Step, INEOS Grenadiers, and Team Visma | Lease a Bike having won an incredible 64 stages between them. The latter have won the Men’s Tour of Britain on four occasions (2011, 2017, 2021 and 2023), including on both their most recent participations, with Wout Van Aert.

Last year’s victorious team of Stevie Williams, Israel – Premier Tech, return as one of eight UCI ProTeams competing in the event. Among them will be a third squad making their event debut, Tudor Pro Cycling, who could include former winner Julian Alaphilippe (2018) in their six-rider squad.

In total, 12 of the world’s top 17 teams, according to the most recent UCI rankings (29 July), will be in action on British roads this September. After impressing in the 2024 Men’s Tour of Britain with their aggressive riding that earned two days in the points jersey, the Portuguese squad Anicolour / Tien 21 will return, and could include British rider Harrison Wood in their six-rider squad.

Completing the 19-team line-up and providing a second British team (alongside INEOS Grenadiers) in the race will be the Great Britain Cycling Team, an ever present in the national tour since 2012.

Commenting on the team announcement, Jonathan Day, Managing Director of the Lloyds Tour of Britain Men, said; “This year’s line-up of teams for the Lloyds Tour of Britain Men is one of the best that we have ever seen assembled for the race, and shows the status with which the event is held by UCI WorldTour and Pro Teams.

“Excitement is building for September, and what will be a highly competitive Lloyds Tour of Britain Men. We cannot wait to see these teams in action and racing through communities across England and Wales on our six stages.”

The full list of teams for the Lloyds Tour of Britain Men is:

— UCI WorldTeams: Bahrain Victorious (Bahrain); Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale (France); Groupama FDJ (France); INEOS Grenadiers (Great Britain); Lidl-Trek (USA); Soudal Quick-Step (Belgium); Team Picnic PostNL (Netherlands); Team Visma | Lease a Bike (Netherlands); UAE Team Emirates – XRG (UAE)

— UCI ProTeams: Equipo Kern Pharma (Spain); Israel – Premier Tech (Israel); Lotto (Belgium); Q36.5 Pro Cycling (Switzerland); Team Flanders – Baloise (Belgium); Tudor Pro Cycling (Switzerland); Unibet Tietema Rockets (France); Uno-X Mobility (Norway)

— UCI Continental Teams: Anicolor / Tien 21 (Portugal)

— National Teams: Great Britain Cycling Team (Great Britain)

Announcements around competing riders and team line-ups will be made in the second half of August in the build-up to the Men’s Tour of Britain.

The Men’s Tour of Britain begins on Tuesday 2 September with a pair of stages in Suffolk, the first from Woodbridge to Southwold, before a leg starting and finishing in Stowmarket. Following stages take in Milton Keynes and a first visit to Ampthill in Central Bedfordshire, before a challenging Warwickshire stage ending in a hilltop finish at Burton Dassett Country Park.

The race concludes with a brace of challenging stages in south Wales, the first including a double ascent of The Tumble, before a final stage between the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome of Wales in Newport to the Welsh capital, Cardiff, on Sunday 7 September.