Since 2004, The Tour of Britain has grown from five stages to a seven day race
now attracting hundreds of thousands of spectators and leading national and
international teams from around the world.

The Tour of Britain, which is Britain’s leading professional cycle race
and biggest live sporting event is free to watch and the 2007 race promises
not only to be bigger and better than previous years but the route will be going
from South to North for the first time.

This year’s race has been granted a seventh day of racing and starts in
Crystal Palace, London, on Sunday 9 September with the race’s first ever
prologue time trial. It will send competitors off at one-minute intervals to
race over a one-lap, 2.5k route. Crystal Palace will host a variety of events
for spectators during the morning including “Go Ride”, a British
cycling initiative for children, a Women’s and a Juniors’ Grand
Prix and the TfL Grand Prix. There will also be a promotional village with sponsors
exhibiting.

Stages
On day two (10 September), stage one in the South East will go from Reading
to Southampton, locations which are both newcomers to hosting the race.

Stage two on 11 September sees the race visit Somerset for the first time,
starting in Yeovilton and ending in Taunton. More details of the race’s
first visit to the South West will be released at their regional launch on 26
April.

Stage three on 12 September (sponsored by Birmingham Midshires and backed for
the first time by Advantage West Midlands) begins in Worcester and ends in Wolverhampton
for the city’s first ever stage finish.

Stage four (13 September) in Yorkshire leaves Rother Valley Park in Rotherham
and ends in Bradford’s Lister Park, voted the most beautiful park in the
country.

Stage five, on the event’s sixth day 14 September, starts in Liverpool,
the city which will host the finish of the race’s final stage in 2008
and will end in Kendal, Cumbria.

The final stage of the 2007 race is on Saturday 15 September in Scotland and
will go from Dumfries to Glasgow, which, if their bid is successful, could be
hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Of the 13 venues who won the bids to host a stage of the race, nine are new
to the event. In keeping with the Tour’s aspiration to take the race to
different parts of Britain, none of the stage finish venues have previously
hosted a stage finish before.

The 2007 Tour of Britain also announces a new date, 9-15 September, spanning
two weekends for the first time in its history. The date is within most schools’
term times, giving children at schools along the route the opportunity to spectate.

The Tour of Britain Prologue Time Trial – 1.6 miles/2.5km
Sunday 9 September 2007

This year’s Tour of Britain kicks off with the race’s first ever
prologue time trial, similar to that seen at the recent Grand Depart of the
Tour de France. All the action will be located in the historic sporting location
of Crystal Palace in London and will be on Sunday 9 September.

The 96 riders taking part in The Tour of Britain will be sent round the course
at one-minute intervals to race over a one-lap 2.5km/1.6mile route. Even though
the course is short, there is an E.ON King of the Mountains climb near the Lake
and the band stand, which will mean that one of the riders will be wearing the
jersey going into Stage 1 from Reading to Southampton.

The Park acquired its name after the relocation of the Crystal Palace from
the site of the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park in 1854. Whilst Crystal Palace
itself was destroyed by fire in 1936, the name lives on and the park itself
has been an iconic venue for a number of sports over the years including motor
racing from the 1930’s untill 1972. It is the old motor racing circuit
which forms the basis of the circuit that the riders will race around. The venue
has hosted cycle racing for many decades and the weekly circuit league is a
hotbed of London and SE racing.

As well as the Tour of Britain, the day will see a host of additional activities
and races including Elite, Womens and Junior Grand Prix that will make Crystal
Palace a fantastic location for a day out in this historically important South
East London.

Prologue events
10.00 – Youth Grand Prix
10.30 – TfL Women’s Grand Prix
11.15 – Go Ride event
13.30 – London Grand Prix
15.00 – Prologue time trial starts
16.40 – Approx finish of the Prologue
17.00 – Presentations

Website – www.tourofbritain.com