The ‘toughest ever’ Tour of Britain route has been revealed, with the eight-stage race set to provide an ideal training ground for riders set to fight for the rainbow jersey at this year’s World Championships.
With the World Championships to take place over a Classics-style course in Holland, featuring ten ascents of the Bemelerberg and Cauberg climbs which also feature in the Amstel Gold Race, Tour of Britain organisers have packed the eight-stage race with short, steep climbs.
“The sprinters will see plenty of action during the first three or four days and then the race really hits you hard,” race director Mike Bennett told The Telegraph.
“The World Championships will definitely have a touch of the one-day Classics about them this year so we wanted to offer a taste of that on the Tour of Britain.
“It’s a crowded schedule these days with the Vuelta a España taking place at the same time not to mention the World Team Time Trial Championship which has been added to the calendar, but we believe anybody having a serious look at the world road race title would find plenty to enthuse over at the Tour of Britain. It’s our longest ever modern-day Tour at 1,365km and our toughest yet.”
The Tour of Britain starts in Ipswich on September 9, with the first four stages set to favour the sprinters, before the road turns uphill. “The route of this year’s Tour is certainly our toughest yet, and to coin a phrase a race of two halves,” added Bennett.
Stage five starts and finishes in Stoke-on-Trent, with more than 2,000m of climbing around Cannock Chase, the Staffordshire Moorlands and Gun Hill, while stage six will see the peloton ride from mid-Wales, through the Brecon Beacons to Caerphilly, where riders will tackle Caerphilly Mountain twice.
The race then heads south west, with a cross-county stage heading from Barnstaple on Devon’s north coast to Dartmouth on the south coast via Dartmoor, with barely a flat metre of road between. The Tour of Britain will visit Surrey for the first time, with the final stage taking in a range of climbs, including Leith Hill, Ranmore Common and Staple Hill, before a cobbled finish in Guildford.
“We can’t finish in London this year because of the strain the Olympics and Paralympics are putting on the city but the alternative is a brute of a day around the Surrey Hills which has the potential to be pretty spectacular followed by an atmospheric finish up Guildford High Street,” said Bennett.
Tim Hughes, managing director of IG Markets, who will once again be sponsoring the gold leader’s jersey, added: “We were delighted with the success of The Tour of Britain last year. The large crowds at the side of the road showed how cycling has captured the imagination of this country.
“This year’s Tour is huge opportunity as the first major sporting event in this country after the Olympics and Paralympics to capitalise on the nation’s enthusiasm for sport and for cycling.”
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Tour of Britain 2012 route
September 9, stage one: Ipswich-Norfolk Showgrounds Norwich, 199.6km
September 10, stage two: Loughbrough-Knowsley Safari Park, 193.5km
September 11, stage three: Jedburgh-Dumfries, 161.4km
September 12, stage four: Carlisle-Blackpool, 156km
September 13, stage five: Stoke-Stoke, 146.9km
September 14, stage six: Welshpool-Caerphilly, 189.8km
September 15, stage seven: Barnstaple-Dartmouth, 170.8km
September 16, stage eight: Reigate-Guildford, 147.7km
