The 2014 Pearl Izumi Tour Series will feature 12 rounds in 10 locations and include a hill climb and team time trial.
Race director, Mick Bennett, unveiled the format and locations for the televised series of city centre criteriums, which will be held for the sixth year in 2014, at the Milton Keynes headquarters of Madison, the UK distributor for the title sponsor’s clothing brand.
Three riders from each team will be nominated to contest the gruelling hill climb, which will be staged in Jersey, the setting for the final round. Barrow will host a round of the series for the first time.
“I think it will be the hardest Tour Series that we’ve had in its sixth edition,” Bennett said. “I think it will do the leader’s jersey credit.”
Bennett unveiled the new jersey, which will be worn by the entire team leading the series, a designation that would highlight what he described as the unique nature of the competition, which places team success above individual victories with a ranking calculated from the finishing positions of a squad’s first three riders.
Riders including former BMC Racing man, Adam Blythe, who will this year race in the colours of British squad, NFTO, were among those who attended the presentation. Blythe, who is based in Monaco, vowed to dedicate himself to the entire 10 round series, which kicks off in Stoke-on-Trent on Tuesday May 13.
Last year’s Tour Series drew tens of thousands of spectators to towns across the UK, and a diverse choice of locations will this year take the racing from Aberystwyth to Durham, and from Barrow to Canary Wharf.
The final round in Jersey will be the opening event of a three-day cycling festival in the town of Gorey, which will be followed by the Pearl Izumi Tour Ride Sportive on Saturday June 14, and the Pearl Izumi International Road Race on Saturday June 15 – a Category A event which Bennett said he hoped would in time be added to the Premier Calendar.
Rising star, Felix English (Rapha Condor JLT), was among the riders present at the unveiling of the locations for this year’s series, which also includes Peterborough, Edinburgh, Redditch, and Woking.
English said he believed his Rapha Condor JLT squad had the personnel to claim overall victory, with the closed-season signings of Graham Briggs from Raleigh and Chris Opie from the now defunct Team UK Youth – last year’s series winners.
English’s team-mate, double Olympic champion, Ed Clancy, won three rounds of last year’s competition, taking victory in Aberystwyth, Torquay, and Woking, while Kristian House won in Durham for the second consecutive year.
Pearl Izumi Tour Series 2014
Round one – Stoke-on-Trent – Tuesday May 13
Round two – Barrow – Thursday May 15
Round three – Peterborough – Tuesday May 20
Round four – Aberystwyth – Friday May 23
Round five – Durham – Tuesday May 27
Round six – Edinburgh – Thursday May 29
Round seven – Redditch – Tuesday June 3
Round eight – Canary Wharf – Thursday June 5
Round nine – Woking – Tuesday June 10
Round 10 – Jersey – Friday June 13
