The Tour of Britain, whose ‘toughest ever’ route was announced last week, has retained another key sponsor.
Parcel delivery firm, Yodel, will be lead sponsor of the nine-stage race for the second consecutive year, after first backing the race in 2010.
The Tour of Britain, which this year will take in nine-stages over nearly 1,400km, starts in Ipswich on Sunday September 9.
Hugh Roberts, Chief Executive for SweetSpot Group, organisers and promoters of The Tour of Britain, said:
“We are very excited that Yodel is once again supporting Britain’s biggest cycle race. Yodel has become synonymous with the Sprints Jersey and I’m sure that fans will continue to flock to the Yodel Sprints, where some of the most exciting action in The Tour of Britain will unfold.”
This year’s 1,365km Tour of Britain route starts in Ipswich, the first of four flat stages in a parcours described by organisers as “a race of two halves”.
Stoke-on-Trent, host to the closing round of this year’s Halfords Tour Series, will host the fifth stage of the Tour of Britain, sending the riders into Cannock Chase, the Staffordshire Moorlands and Gun Hill for more than 2,000 metres of climbing.
Wales will offer a further challenge for the climbers, with a route through the Brecon Beacons that takes in two ascents of Caerphilly Mountain.
Barnstaple, Dartmouth, and Dartmoor will bring the race to fans in Devon, before crowds in Surrey get their first test of the Tour of Britain, with the riders set to tackle the climbs of Leith Hill, Ranmore Common, and Staple Hill before finishing on a cobbled ramps of Guildford.
Yodel will also remain “official logistics partner” to the Halfords Tour Series, and to The Tour Rides, a series of five mass participation rides for amateur riders, inspired by the Tour of Britain route, and expected to attract 5,000 riders.
