The final round of this year’s Halfords Tour Series will be held in Stoke-on-Trent and include a team time trial .
Ten of the nation’s best teams will ride in formation against the clock, including all six of Britain’s UCI Continental squads after an hour long criterium in the streets of Stoke city centre on Thursday June 14.
The teams will face ‘the race of truth’ in the middle of the afternoon, before returning for the hour-long criterium over a 1.2km circuit in the evening.
The time trial will be named in honour of Tommy Godwin, who died in 1975 aged 73, and who set world endurance records for the number of miles ridden in a year and for riding 100,000 miles in 500 days.
News of the final stage completes the line-up for this year’s Halfords Tour Series, which will be shown on national television. “We are delighted to be able to officially confirm that Stoke-on-Trent will host the Grand Final of this year’s Halfords Tour Series,” said Technical Director Mick Bennett.
The opening round will see a round of the Tour Series contested in Scotland for the first time, with a visit to Kirkcaldy on Tuesday May 15.
Durham will host the second round, with riders once again tackling the tough cobbled climb of the city centre. New venues Redditch and Oxford will play host to races in the second week of the series.
Aberystwyth will again play host to the Tour Series as the rides return this year for round five, and Peterborough and Canary Wharf will again welcome action packed racing.
A first ever Friday night race sees the return to Aberystwyth for Round Five, before traditional venues Peterborough and Canary Wharf welcome fast paced, team based action back to their streets.
Round eight will be held in Torquay, before the Series moves from west to east for a race in Colchester to end the third week of racing.
Woking will host the tenth and penultimate round, before the finale in Stoke-on-Trent, which will host the crowning of the new champions. An event to launch the series will be held next week in Guildford, and will be attended by riders from three of Britain’s top teams.
Newly-crowned world team pursuit champion, Andy Tennant, will represent Rapha Condor Sharp, while Daniel Holloway will represent Raleigh-GAC, and Ian Wilkinson, a two-time Tour Series stage winner, will fly the flag for Endura Racing.
2012 Halfords Tour Series teams
Rapha Condor Sharp
Cycle Premier – Kovert
Endura Racing
Metaltek Scott
Node4 – Giordana Racing
Team Herbalife
LeisureLakesBikes.com
Team Hope Factory Racing
Team IG – Sigma Sport
Team Raleigh – GAC
Team UK Youth
2012 Halfords Tour Series Calendar
Round one – Kirckcaldy – Tuesday May 15
Round two – Durham – Thursday May 17
Round three – Oxford – Tuesday May 22
Round four – Redditch – Thursday May 24
Round five – Aberystwyth – Friday May 25
Round six – Peterborough – Tuesday May 29
Round seven – Canary Wharf – Thursday May 31
Round eight – Torquay – Tuesday June 5
Round nine – Colchester – Thursday June 7
Round ten – Woking – Tuesday June 12
Grand final – Stoke-on-Trent – Thursday June 14
