Anglesey has been "chosen as the host venue" for the opening stage of the 2015 Tour of Britain on Sept. 6, according to the BBC. Cyclists will complete a stage from Beaumaris to Wrexham, "marking the first time the race has started in Wales in its modern history." The tour will finish in London on Sept. 13 after taking in stages in Scotland, Cumbria and Norfolk. It is regarded as British Cycling's "premier road cycling event" (BBC, 3/17). SPORT.CO.UK's Kev Monks reported the London stage presented by Transport for London will feature an "entirely new route" in '15, starting and finishing on Regent Street St. James and providing an "iconic backdrop" for the race that will take in Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, the Strand and Whitehall. In total, 11 venues will "welcome the modern Friends Life Tour of Britain for the first time" in '15. Once again ITV will screen three hours of live coverage of every stage, "starting on ITV for the opening Wales stage before reverting to ITV4 for Stages Two to Eight." ITV4 will "also screen" a one-hour highlights program each evening during the race (SPORT.CO.UK, 3/23).
STEEP CLIMB: CYCLING NEWS reported the action on stage 5 will move into climbing territory as the 171km stage "traces along Hadrian's Wall from Prudhoe in Northumberland into Cumbria and the Lake District before finishing atop Hartside Fell in the Pennines." The five-mile long climb reaches 1,904 feet and, according to the race organizers, provides "the highest and toughest summit finish in the modern Tour of Britain's history." It's the "only climb on the stage and should provide the perfect showdown between the climbers and the GC contenders" (CYCLING NEWS, 3/18).
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| Source: TOUR OF BRITAIN |
