Tour of Britain

Published by Matt Polaine | Filed under Bicycle, Cycling, Events

Tour of what? Tomorrow (9th September 2007) begins the Tour of Britain cycle event, though no one is surprised if you haven’t heard of it given the virtual media blackout cycling gets in this country. It runs from 9th - 15th September and travels all over the UK. For those of you in London who aren’t aware of anything else existing outside the M25, the prologue takes place in Crystal Palace park on the first day, starting at 15:00hrs.

Cycling is a hugely popular sport and British cyclists are among the best in the world, winning five gold medals in the 2004 Olympics and Paralympics. We also have some of the top mountain bikers and downhill bikers in the world. UK female cyclists are also world champions. Did you know this? Can you explain why the UK media ignore cycling so much? Me neither. Two billion people around the globe watched the Tour de France this year, those few not watching include most of the UK’s sports journalists. Anyway, more on the Tour of Britain….

Brief History of The Tour of Britain The Tour of Britain is a blue riband cycling event that returned to the British cycling calendar in 2004 after an absence of five years.

The Tour of Britain has formerly been known as the Milk Race, the Kellogg’s Tour and the Pru Tour of Britain. Our aspiration was to re-launch the event along the lines of the Tour de France, which has no title sponsor but a spectrum of public and private sector support. We hope that this will add sustainability and longevity to this important event.

The Tour of Britain has placed itself on a global platform alongside major races such as The Tour de France and Giro d’Italia by attracting a combination of national and international teams. Teams which are attracted to racing the Tour of Britain include Pro Tour Teams such as T-Mobile, Quickstep, Phonak and CSC.

The world governing body the UCI (the Union Cyclisme Internationale) granted the 2004 Tour of Britain world championship ranking status. The Tour of Britain is determined in the future to become part of the UCI’s elite Pro Tour calendar.

The Tour of Britain is a not for profit organisation governed by a Board of Trustees with representatives from the sport of cycling, trade and industry and politics.

Tour of Britain 2007 website

A day in the life of The Tour of Britain 2006