Featured image courtesy of Alex Livesey/Getty Images
For the 18th time since 2004, the Tour of Britain is about to embark on another eight days of world class cycling. Starting at the northernmost location in its history, 108 riders will start in Aberdeen before heading south all the way to a first-ever finish on the Isle of Wight.
It is fact that Britain is a cycling nation because British success at the Tour de France and numerous Olympic Games have rubbed off on those who feel inspired. The triumphant stories British cycling have produced over so many years means that the crowds keep on coming for Britain’s biggest bike race of the year.
The Tour of Britain might be just eight days in total but like so many editions before it, the race always brings in record crowds. As the race made its way from Cornwall to Aberdeenshire last year, over one million spectators supported on the roadside, and an average daily audience of 423,000 watched live on ITV4 – a 31% increase from 2019 according to race organisers.
2022 is bound to be bigger and better for the Tour, with the crucial factor year after year being the parcours. SweetSpot Group with the vision of Mick Bennett constantly draw up a brilliant route with some entertaining stages to watch but most importantly the place the Tour sits on the yearly calendar, just before the UCI Road World Championships, gives some of the best riders an opportune warm-up.
Domestic teams get their chance too at this race, some of the best WorldTour squads are here and other UCI pro-continental teams will be searching for a stage win. A round-up of the key names to watch at this year’s Tour below, but what does this new edition have in store? Here’s the route map.
This year’s Tour misses London for the fourth consecutive time. The London Stage has always acted as the finale (except for one edition where it started the race with a time trial), but skipping the capital again actually makes the Tour more exciting.
With varied terrain, the riders could not have asked for a tougher start than Stage 1. Beginning in Aberdeen (which has never before hosted the Big Start of the Tour of Britain but did host the finish to last year’s race), the route heads in a northwesterly direction before three key climbs in the Cairngorms.
181.3 km in total and the bold step by the organisers to give the race a summit finish at the Glenshee Ski Centre could pull off one of the greatest Tour stages in recent years. As ever, riders will get in a break to score points in some of the competitions on offer – the blue points jersey, points at the intermediate sprints and the King of the Mountains are the three alternative prizes on offer away from whoever wins overall.
Finishes atop Haytor in Devon and the Whinlatter Pass (below) in the Lake District over the years, Glenshee will hope to become another fearsome summit added to the Tour’s hall of fame.
Stage 2 is another hilly route as the race moves to the Scottish Borders for 175.2 km between Hawick and Duns. A lot of undulating terrain, once the stage gets the intermediate sprints are out of the way there will be three huge climbs in the final 25 km. At Wanside Rigg, Mainslaughter Law and Hardens Hill, each climb should be too difficult for the pure sprinters.
5.4 km remaining is when Hardens Hill peaks out, so a punchy sprinter and those capable of taking on hill after hill before having the energy to sprint for the line will win this stage.
The next day sees the peloton move into England for the first time as the race loops through the North Pennines and County Durham. Starting in the cathedral city and finishing in Sunderland, one of the climbs at Chapel Hill will start the KOM fight but at 163.6 km in total, this stage will suit the sprinters.
Taking in Barnard Castle, the Billy Lane climb marks the halfway mark before a rolling descent leads onto an undulating last part of the race. Only the short climb to High Moorsley stands out but with 19 km to go after moving through the village, Stage 3’s finale will be flat and the finish in Sunderland will feature a 500 m home straight on West Wear Street.
A second return to the north-east after the race finished outside the Angel of the North last year (below).
Stage 4 moves further down the North Sea coast as the race features a 149.5 km route between Redcar to Duncombe Park near Helmsley. Because the Tour de Yorkshire three-day race has sadly now folded, it was only right for the Tour to come back to God’s own country.
After travelling along the Yorkshire coast, the riders will then enter the North York Moors National Park and climb at Robin Hood’s Bay, which may be only 1 km in length but has a brutal 14% gradient. The Tour de Yorkshire loved using this climb and once again it’ll be sight to behold seeing the riders climb with the sea in the background.
Going further into the North York Moors at Egton Bank, the route then continues to go either up or down until a long and gradual downhill begins inside the last 50 km. It’s the calm before storm and the real killer appears with 28 km to go at Carlton Bank which again may short at 2 km, but the average gradient sits at 9.8% with one section peaking at 18.8%
The riders fly down to the foot of the last obstacle of the day which is Newsgate Bank, an unclassified climb of 1.6 km at 7% with a steep section of 14.7%. The route then descends to Helmsley and zigzags through the town to finish in the Duncombe Park Estate.
From West Bridgford to Mansfield, the fifth stage at 186.8 km should be well-suited to the sprinters as the stage is pan flat. Moving through Cotgrave, Gedling, Southwell, Retford and Worksop to continue into Mansfield via Clumber Park and Sherwood Forest, climbs at Keyworth and Sparken Hill will hardly challenge any of the riders.
Ian Stannard won the race from West Bridgford to Mansfield in the 2018 edition of the Tour of Britain. He dropped his breakaway companion Nils Politt 17 km before the finish line and soloed to victory. Could another rider solo to victory in a break?
Next up comes a trip to the south west as Stage 6 sees a hilly route at 170.9 km entirely in Gloucestershire. The medieval riverside town of Tewkesbury kicks off the day before the first climb comes only 20 km into the stage just outside Winchcombe at Round Hill.
The rest of the stage will be undulating as the peloton climbs Withington Hill, where beyond this point the next 100 km across the Cotswolds won’t offer any KOM climbs but it isn’t entirely flat. The finale begins 27 km before the finish line when the riders tackle Crawley Hill, a climb of 1.7 km at 8.1%.
The route then continues towards the village of Edge where it is a 2.2 km uncategorised climb at an average gradient of 5.7% before the last 10 km go mostly downhill to the finish by the historic Gloucester Docks. This stage could be a thriller, a break might snatch it, but expect some key GC fireworks and a real need for good descending skills.
Another bunch sprint should happen again on Stage 7 between West Bay and Ferndown. The penultimate stage will run along the Jurassic Coast (below), pass through Dorchester, West Lulworth and Corfe Castle, before taking in KOM climbs at Daggers Gate and Whiteways Hill.
Beyond the Dorset coastal scenery, the route heads inland to Milton Abbas and Okeford Fitzpaine before the final climb comes at Okeford Hill. With around 60 km remaining at the summit, that is the perfect indicator to suggest that the sprinters will make it all the way.
Going into neighbouring Hampshire, Ferndown hosts the final sprint right in the heart of the town centre.
The last stage of the Tour of Britain will be played out on the Isle of Wight, a 148.9 km route that will once again feature hills and a huge GC finish to decide who will win the 2022 edition.
The riders clip into their pedals in the seaside town of Ryde and from then on it’s a good tour of the island as the route moves through Cowes, Sandown, Shanklin, Totland, Ventnor and Yarmouth – no part of the Isle of Wight is left untouched.
Three intermediate climbs stand out including Brading Down tackled early on, Cowleaze Hill and Zig Zag Road both appearing in the last 40 km and on the south side of the island with coastal winds maybe causing splits.
The final clash will take place on the last climb of this entire Tour. After the final 20 km along the stunning Military Road towards The Needles Landmark Attraction, the riders will enter a 2 km long climb up to Tennyson Down. The final 400 m are particularly intimidating, as this section goes up at 9.6%.
One final burst of effort to conclude the 2022 Tour – what a route we have in store!
With no time trial this year, the way this year’s Tour of Britain will be won could be unpredictable at its very best. All that remains to include in this preview are the key riders we should keep an eye on? After battling it out with Britain’s Ethan Hayter and third place world champion Julian Alaphilippe, defending champion Wout Van Aert isn’t around as his team Jumbo-Visma haven’t been invited this year, in fact there are not many UCI WorldTour teams at all with only the INEOS Grenadiers, Team DSM, Israel-Premier Tech, BORA-Hansgrohe and Movistar taking part.
Giving other riders from other teams a chance is what makes the Tour unique, most especially for the home grown British talent that will ride. A chance to race alongside some of the best riders in the world, five names to watch out for are:
1) Sam Watson – leading the Great Britain cycling team. The 20-year-old has finished second at the National Circuit Championships and at the Nationals senior road race back in June he went toe-to-toe with Mark Cavendish, who would eventually sprint his way to become British national champion. Like so many young British riders, Groupama-FDJ are taking a chance on Sam Watson after recently announcing he’ll be making the step up to WorldTour level in 2023.
2) Rob Scott – a versatile rider for one of Britain’s best pro-continental teams Wiv-SunGod. Good results at Paris-Troyes, the Manx International GP as well a stage win and overall victory at the Tour de la Mirabelle – Rob Scott will be well up for Stage 4 as the North Yorkshireman should relish some of the climbs on offer.
3) Alexander Richardson – who came third at the Nationals behind Cavendish and will lead Cornish team Saint-Piran after making their debut when the Tour started in Cornwall last year. Riding at the Tour last year for Alpecin-Fenix, the 32-year-old has experience and is a perfect all-rounder.
4) Thomas Gloag – riding for Trinity Racing, Gloag has only recently joined Jumbo-Visma’s youth team but can still ride this race. After taking 12th in the King of the Mountains classification last year could he go one better or maybe target a top-ten in the general classification? An impressive stage win at the Tour de l’Avenir (the junior Tour de France) last week, Thomas Gloag like so many young British riders has a bright future.
5) Finn Crockett – A punchy rider who can increase the pace whenever he wishes, this 23-year-old managed to take ninth overall at the Tour du Loir et Cher, before winning the Rutland-Melton CiCLE Classic earlier this season. To date though, a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games road race (below) has been Finn Crockett’s best highlight of 2022. Stage wins at this Tour of Britain doesn’t seem unlikely.
Some of the world’s best riders are in town for this race and at WorldTour level, the home boys INEOS Grenadiers have brought a strong six-man team. Richie Porte, who over so many years has delivered strong climbing performances to help Chris Froome win Tour de France titles in 2013 and 2015, will ride his final race here on British roads. The Australian has finished third overall at the Tour de France before and at 37 also has Paris-Nice, the Tour de Suisse, and the Critérium du Dauphiné among his career palmarès. A Tour of Britain overall to complete an illustrious career?
Porte may be acting as a support rider to Tom Pidcock, the 23-year-old who won atop Alpe D’Huez at this year’s Tour de France on debut. It seems not so long ago that a young Pidcock was riding the Tour of Britain for Team Wiggins, a fresh talent arriving on the scene who has now kick-started some serious results on the road. The Olympic Mountain Biking champion starts this race as a favourite.
Other big names in cycling are here to claim the red jersey and win the Tour. They include Belgian Dylan Teuns, who rides for Israel-Premier Tech, his first stage race for the team since a mid-season transfer. Teuns has won stages at the Tour de France and La Vuelta, two of the sport’s grand tours, so expect him to be a marked man for the GC clash as well as his Canadian team mate Michael Woods, who also has grand tour experience.
Bora-Hansgrohe line up with two-times Paris-Nice winner Max Schachmann and 2019 Tour of Turkey winner Felix Großschartner – expect both to feature strongly in the GC fight as well as Movistar’s American rider Matteo Jorgenson, who finished fourth at the Tour de la Provence and found himself in numerous breakaways at the Tour de France.
For the sprint field, the fastest man who can realistically challenge numerous wins over the week is Dutchman Cees Bol for Team DSM. Britain’s Matt Walls at Bora is one to watch but also keep an eye out for Timothy Dupont (Bingoal-Pauwels Sauces-WB), Eduard Prades (Caja Rural-Seguros SGA) and Kenneth Van Rooy (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise) in the bid for the blue points jersey.
From the far north east of Scotland all the way to the Isle of Wight – the Tour of Britain 2022 is finally back and ready to go once again. With the best riders and the best scenery the UK has to offer, prepare yourself for another thrilling eight days of cycling on British roads.