The Tour of Britain, for the last two seasons, has been classified 2.HC by the UCI – the highest ranking available to a race outside of the WorldTour.

It puts it on a par with races such as the Tour of California, Giro del Trentino, Dubai Tour and Tour of Oman and as such attracts the same sort of strong line-ups as those races.

But it also allows for British domestic teams to be invited – something which would be difficult at WorldTour level because all 17 WorldTour teams automatically get a spot, leaving little space for others.

So while some fans want to see the race elevated to the next level – and Britain’s varied terrain and the unpredictable nature of recent editions would certainly mean it’s not out of place – it could actually be to the detriment of the race if it was.

Seeing One Pro Cycling and Madison-Genesis fight it out for the King of the Mountains – the former’s Pete Williams eventually beating Tom Stewart on the race’s final climb – was an interesting side story to this year’s race.

Team WIGGINS’ Owain Doull, meanwhile, finished third overall having been in the front group on every stage.

Some of those teams may have been invited anyway, but there would almost certainly not have been space for all of them which would limit the opportunities afforded to Britain’s domestic teams.

Being able to see British riders on British teams racing against the world’s best on British roads is a good thing – it would be a shame to lose that.