Team IG Sigma Sport rider Dan Craven believes this year’s Tour of Britain could be decided on the final stage in Surrey after a lumpy route was revealed.
The full 2012 Tour of Britain route – dubbed the ‘toughest ever’ – was unveiled last month and details have now been confirmed for the eighth and final in Surrey on Sunday September 16.
The race traditionally finishes in London but will not visit the capital in 2012 due to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
But Surrey provides a more testing finale, with four short and sharp climbs which feature regularly on RoadCyclingUK’s weekend rides: Staple Lane, Crocknorth Road, Leith Hill and Barhatch Lane, the hardest climb in the county.
Three intermediate sprints will take place on Dorking High Street, Guildford High Street (as the peloton passes through for the first time) and Stane Street.
Craven said: “Depending on what happens in the stages before, there could be big differences [between riders] and the leader could be safe, but if not, it will be a real nail-biting finish because on an uphill finish like that you have chances to get back those seconds.”
“Consistent all day long climbing like you find in Surrey really suits me and a cobbled uphill finish sounds fantastic.”
The race will cap a packed calendar of racing in Surrey this summer, with the men’s and women’s Olympic road races set to take place on July 28 and 29, before the time trials on August 1.
Helyn Clack, Surrey County Council’s cabinet member for community services and the Olympic Games, added: “Watching the cyclists gunning for glory up Guildford’s cobbled high street will be an exhilarating experience.
“We’re already hosting the Olympic cycling road races and time trials, so having the Tour of Britain here will give people in Surrey another chance to watch world-class athletes on our doorstep.”
