Tour of Britain

2025 Tour of Britain
Race details
Date	September
Region	Great Britain
Local name	The Tour
Discipline	Road
Competition	UCI Europe Tour (2004–2021) UCI ProSeries (2021–present)
Type	Stage race
Organiser	British Cycling
Web site	tour-of-britain.com
History
First edition	1945 (1945)
First winner	Robert Batot (FRA)
Most recent	Romain Grégoire (FRA)

TheTour of Britain is a multi-stagecycling race, conducted on British roads, in which participants race across Great Britain to complete the race in the fastest time.

The event dates back to the first British stage races held just after the Second World War. Since then, various different events have been described as the Tour of Britain, including theMilk Race, theKellogg's Tour of Britain and thePruTour.

The most recent version of the Tour of Britain began in 2004 as part of theUCI Europe Tour. From 2014, the race was rated2.HC by the UCI.^[1] The race became part of the newUCI ProSeries in 2020.

The Tour of Britain has its origins in a dispute between cyclists during the Second World War. The British administrative body, theNational Cyclists' Union (NCU), had feared since the 19th century that massed racing on the roads would endanger all racing, including early-morningtime trials and, originally, the very place of cyclists on the road.^[2]

A race organised fromLlangollen toWolverhampton on 7 June 1942, in defiance of the NCU, led to its organisers and riders being banned. They formed a new body, theBritish League of Racing Cyclists (BLRC), which wanted not only massed racing but a British version of theTour de France.^[3]

The first multi-day stage race in Britain was the Southern Grand Prix inKent in August 1944.^[4] It was won by Les Plume ofManchester. The first stage was won byPercy Stallard, the organiser of the Llangollen-Wolverhampton race in 1942.

The experience encouraged the BLRC to run a bigger race, the Victory Cycling Marathon, to celebrate the end of the war in 1945. It ran fromBrighton toGlasgow in five stages and was won by Robert Batot of France, with Frenchmen taking six of the top 10 places, the mountains competition and best team.

Chas Messenger, a BLRC official and historian, said: "No one had ever put on a stage race in this country, other than the Southern Grand Prix, and even fewer people had even seen one. So raw were they that Jimmy Kain (the organiser) even wrote to theAuto-Cycle Union – the body for motorcycle racing – and the flags used by them were taken as a guide to what was needed.^[4] Kain recalled the precarious budget: "£44 entry fees and £130 of my own money and £16 when I went round with the hat after the Bradford stage."^[5]

The writer Roger St Pierre said:

"It was reported that 20,000 watched the start but I've seen a picture which would indicate it was probably three or four times that number. What outsiders didn't see though was just what a ramshackle affair it all was, with riders finishing stages often miles longer than billed then having to find a bed for the night – with the poorer riders ending up spending the night huddled in barns, haylofts or even under the hedgerows."^[6]

The BLRC was not recognised by the world governing body, theUnion Cycliste Internationale and so it recruited its French riders from another rebel organisation, the communist Fédération Sportive et Gymnastique du Travail, using French café-owners inSoho, London, as their link.

The Victory Cycling Marathon was run on what little money the BLRC could raise. Riders stayed in cheap boarding houses and officials used their own cars. In 1947, theNews of the World gave £500 to the race, by then called Brighton-Glasgow. Within a year it pulled out again, concerned by the internal arguments that had bedevilled the BLRC from the start. The 1950 race was sponsored bySporting Record, another newspaper, followed by theDaily Express in 1951.

The cycling official John Dennis said in 2002:

"The most effective sponsor of the Tour of Britain (theDaily Express) was lost as a result of the constant bickering between rival officials and organisations. I was the press officer to theExpress publicity director, Albert Asher, and saw it all happen. He was upset by the petty disagreements and decided to support the new Formula 1 motor-racing instead."^[7]

Sponsorship was taken up by the makers ofQuaker Oats in 1954, and then in 1958 by theMilk Marketing Board.

TheMilk Marketing Board (MMB) was a salesmonopoly fordairy farmers in England and Wales. A semi-professional cyclist fromDerby, Dave Orford, asked the MMB to pay for "Drink more milk" to be embroidered on the jersey of every semi-professional, or independent, rider in the country. The MMB could then advertise that races had been won because of the properties of milk and the winner would receive a £10 bonus as a result.

Orford met the MMB's publicity officer, Reg Pugh, at the board's headquarters inThames Ditton, west of London. Orford said: "At the end of the discussion he stated that the MMB would prefer to sponsor a major international marathon. So the Milk Race, the Tour of Britain, was born, starting in 1958 and lasting for 35 years, the longest cycle sponsorship in the UK ever."^[8] A tie-in video game,Milk Race, was released in 1987.

The first two races were open to semi-professionals but from 1960 until 1984 it was open only to amateurs. From 1985 until 1993 it was open to both amateurs and professionals. The Milk Race ended in 1993 because the MMB was wound up with the passing of the UK'sAgriculture Act 1993.

In May 2013 theMilk Race name was revived for an annual one-daycriterium inNottingham, with elite men's and women's races. The event is organised by Race DirectorTony Doyle and sponsored by theDairy Council and the Milk Marketing Forum.^[9][10]

The professional Kellogg's Tour of Britain ran for eight editions from 1987 to 1994. This tour, particularly in its early years, was characterised by very long hilly stages, a typical example being theNewcastle upon Tyne toManchester stage via theYorkshire Dales in the 1987 event. ThePrudential plc-sponsored PruTour (1998–1999) ran twice. Concerns about safety during the races contributed to both events' demise through the withdrawal of sponsorship; in the case of the Kellogg's Tour this followed a member of the public driving head-on into thepeloton in theLake District,^[11] and in the case of the PruTour a police motorcyclist being killed in a collision with a motorist nearWorcester.^[12]

After a five-year hiatus, the Tour of Britain returned in 2004. It began as a five-stage race before increasing to six days in 2005, seven in 2007 and eventually an eight-stage race in 2008. It is a professional men's race, typically attracting between 10 and 12 UCI WorldTeams, as well as a handful of UCI ProTeams, four British-registered UCI Continental Teams and a Great Britain national squad which often comprises riders from British Cycling's Senior Academy programme.

Year	Country	Rider	Team
2004	Colombia	Mauricio Ardila	Chocolade Jacques-Wincor Nixdorf
2005	Belgium	Nick Nuyens	Quick-Step–Innergetic
2006	Denmark	Martin Pedersen	Team CSC
2007	France	Romain Feillu	Agritubel
2008	France	Geoffroy Lequatre	Agritubel
2009	Norway	Edvald Boasson Hagen	Team Columbia–HTC
2010	Switzerland	Michael Albasini	Team HTC–Columbia
2011	Netherlands	Lars Boom	Rabobank
2012	Australia	Nathan Haas	Garmin–Sharp
2013	Great Britain	Bradley Wiggins	Team Sky
2014	Netherlands	Dylan van Baarle	Garmin–Sharp
2015	Norway	Edvald Boasson Hagen	MTN–Qhubeka
2016	Great Britain	Steve Cummings	Team Dimension Data
2017	Netherlands	Lars Boom	LottoNL–Jumbo
2018	France	Julian Alaphilippe	Quick-Step Floors
2019	Netherlands	Mathieu van der Poel	Corendon–Circus
2020	No race due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
2021	Belgium	Wout van Aert	Team Jumbo–Visma
2022	Spain	Gonzalo Serrano	Movistar Team
2023	Belgium	Wout van Aert	Team Jumbo–Visma
2024	Great Britain	Stephen Williams	Israel–Premier Tech
2025	France	Romain Grégoire	Groupama–FDJ

The2004 Tour of Britain was the first edition of the modern incarnation of the race. It took place over five days between Wednesday 1 – Sunday 5 September, organised by Surrey-basedSweetSpot Group in collaboration with the BCF (British Cycling Federation). It was the first Tour of Britain to be held since 1999. SweetSpot MD Hugh Roberts and race director Mick Bennett, were behind the event's return, working on the race until 2023.^[15]

Sponsored by the Regional Development Agencies, it attracted teams such asT-Mobile andU.S. Postal Service. It was designated a 2.3 category race on theUnion Cycliste Internationale (UCI) calendar. Highlights of the event were shown as part of BBC'S Grandstand programme a week after the final stage.

The tour climaxed with a 45 miles (72 km)criterium in London, where an estimated 100,000 spectators saw a long break byBradley Wiggins last until the penultimate lap, beforeEnrico Degano ofTeam Barloworld took the sprint on the line. The ColombianMauricio Ardila, ofChocolade Jacques, won theGeneral Classification.^[16]

The2005 race was run as a UCI 2.1 category in six stages starting inGlasgow on Tuesday 30 August and finishing in London on Sunday 4 September. British rider Roger Hammond took victory in Blackpool on stage two, becoming the first home rider to win a stage of the modern race.^[17] However, the overall title was won by Belgian rider Nick Nuyens, who is only one of two riders to have led the modern race from start to finish.

FutureTour de France championGeraint Thomas andMark Cavendish both made their first appearances in the race during the 2005 Tour; Thomas placed 42nd overall,^[18] Cavendish (who finished third in Blackpool on stage two and sixth in Nottingham two days later) 84th.

The2006 Tour of Britain took place from Tuesday 29 August to Sunday 3 September as a UCI category 2.1 event.Martin Pedersen andAndy Schleck ofTeam CSC won theoverall andKing of the Mountains classification, respectively.Mark Cavendish (T-Mobile Team) won the points classification andJohan van Summeren (Davitamon–Lotto) the sprints classification. Like Nuyens in 2005, Pedersen topped the overall standings from start to finish. The race's final stage, held between Greenwich Park and The Mall, was televised live on BBC's Grandstand,^[19] making it the first and only stage to enjoy such coverage between 2004 and 2011.

The2007 Tour of Britain was extended to seven days, with the extra day being used to run a stage inSomerset for the first time. Instead of finishing in London, the 2007 race started in London and finished inGlasgow, which used the event to boost its bid to host the2014 Commonwealth Games. French riderRomain Feillu wonoverall by just 0.49 seconds over Spaniard (and stage four winner in Bradford) Adrián Palomares. His victory margin remains the smallest in modern race history.Mark Cavendish won the race's opening two stages (a 2.5 km prologue atCrystal Palace Park and in Southampton) as well as the points competition, while Yorkshire'sBen Swift won the mountains competition.

The tour increased by yet another day for2008, with eight stages scheduled, from Sunday 7 to Sunday 14 September. The race began in London and finished inLiverpool.^[20]ITV4 broadcast the race for the first time, with each stage enjoyed hour-long highlight shows presented byNed Boulting. As per compatriot Romain Feillu in 2007, overall championGeoffroy Lequatre claimed the victory despite not winning a single stage of the Tour. Italian riderAlessandro Petacchi and future championEdvald Boasson Hagen both won three stages apiece; Petacchi triumphed in London (stage one), Gateshead (six) and Liverpool (eight), while Boasson Hagen was first across the line in Stoke-on-Trent (stage four),Dalby Forest (five) andDrumlanrig Castle (seven).

The sixth edition, the2009 Tour of Britain, was also raced over eight days, Saturday 12 to Saturday 19 September. The race started inScunthorpe and finished in London. Boasson Hagen was the dominant overall winner, claiminga record four-consecutive stage victories (in Peebles, Blackpool, Stoke-on-Trent and Bideford) en route to the title. In his first season as a pro,Katusha–Alpecin rider Ben Swift memorably took his maiden career victory ahead of team-mateFilippo Pozzato inYeovil.

The2010 edition of the Tour of Britain was held from Saturday 11 to Saturday 18 September and was won byMichael Albasini. His winning margin of 65 seconds over Slovenian riderBorut Božič is the largest in modern race history. Albasini laid the foundations of his victory by winning inSwansea on stage three; that day's route included two ascents of the city's famed Constitution Hill, a 300-metre cobbled climb that averages a gradient of 19.3%.^[21]Team Sky made their race debut in the 2010 Tour, winning stage two in Stoke-on-Trent with New ZealanderGreg Henderson. While the race finished in London for the fifth time in seven editions, the 2010 Tour finale took place aroundExCeL London owing to a clash with the Pope's visit to London, which meant that the centre of the city was out of bounds to the race on the orders of the police and security services.^[22]

The2011 Tour of Britain was held from Sunday 11 to Sunday 18 September. Stage two, scheduled to take place between Kendal and Carlisle, was cancelled due to bad weather.^[23] It remains the only stage of the modern race not to run as planned. Thegeneral classification was won by Dutch riderLars Boom.^[24] This edition of the race outlined the event's growing stature on the international cycling calendar, asThor Hushovd became only the second reigningUCI road world champion to win a stage of the race wearing the iconicRainbow Jersey when he triumphed inCaerphilly on stage four. Furthermore,Mark Cavendish returned to the race for the first time since the2007 Tour of Britain less than two months after he won thePoints classification in the Tour de France. The Manxman won the opening stage in Dumfries and London circuit race finale; he also set upHTC–Highroad team-mateMark Renshaw to win in Exmouth on day five.

The2012 Tour of Britain was held from Sunday 9 to Sunday 16 September.^[25] With the British public's interest in cycling high off the back ofBradley Wiggins' victory in that summer'sTour de France and theLondon 2012 Olympic Games, the final two hours of each stage during the 2012 race were shown live onITV4 andEurosport.^[26]

Jonathan Tiernan-Locke originally won the event, the first British rider to do so since its relaunch. In 2014, following investigation forbiological passport irregularities, Tiernan-Locke was banned for two years and stripped of his 2012 title.^[27] The race was retrospectively awarded to Australia'sNathan Haas, riding for theGarmin–Sharp team.^[28]Mark Cavendish, in his last race as World Champion, won three stages including the final stage in an uphill sprint up Guildford's cobbled high street. Tour de France 2012 winner,Bradley Wiggins was forced to pull out of the Tour after stage 5, as a result of a stomach bug.

The tenth edition, the2013 Tour of Britain, took place from Sunday 15 to Sunday 22 September^[29] comprising eight stages. Wiggins won in what proved to be Team Sky's only general classification victory in the race,^[30] beatingIAM Cycling'sMartin Elmiger by 26 seconds, having put 54 seconds into the Swiss rider during the stage three individual time trial aroundKnowsley, Merseyside.^[31] The race notably featured its first hill-top finish, which took place uponHaytor, Devon, on stage six. Riding for the Great Britain national team, futureVuelta a España winnerSimon Yates – then aged just 21 – took a famous victory.^[32]

The eleventh edition, the2014 Tour of Britain, consisted of eight stages between Sunday 7 and Sunday 14 September. For the first time, it was categorised as a UCI 2.HC race and featured a title sponsor:Friends Life Group. It began in Liverpool and finished in London, with two stage finishes in Wales, three in the west of England, and two in the south-east. The race was won byDylan van Baarle.^[33] German sprinterMarcel Kittel won the stages in Liverpool and London just weeks after he triumphed in two of the three British stages that featured in the2014 Tour de France; his London victory in the Tour of Britain came onWhitehall, whereas stage three of the 2014 Tour de France finished onThe Mall, London. Another British victory looked likely when Essex'sAlex Dowsett, riding for theMovistar Team (men's team), moved into the race lead after forming part of a three-man breakaway on stage six between Bath and Hemel Hempstead. However, he lost the lead after the following day's stage between Camberley and Brighton,^[34] and went on to finish eighth overall.

Edvald Boasson Hagen made more history at the2015 Tour of Britain when he became the first rider to win the modern edition for a second time. The 12th edition of the modern race, held between Sunday 6 and Sunday 13 September, was sponsored byAviva following their acquisition of Friends Life in April 2015. In another first,Anglesey hosted the Grand Départ, becoming the first of Britain's small islands to welcome the Tour. The race visited the cities of Edinburgh (stage four start), Stoke-on-Trent (stage six start) and Nottingham (stage six finish), as well as smaller towns such asPrudhoe andFakenham. London again hosted the final stage, however the Tour used a new circuit centred aroundRegent Street andPiccadilly as opposed to its traditional Whitehall loop, versions of which featured in seven editions of the race between 2004 and 2014.^[35] German riderAndré Greipel, riding forLotto–Soudal was first across the line but was subsequently disqualified for a dangerous sprint.^[36] In doing so, he became the first rider to be stripped of a stage win in modern race history;Elia Viviani was awarded the victory to go alongside successes inWrexham on stage one andFloors Castle on stage three.

The2016 Tour of Britain, held between Sunday 4 and Sunday 11 September,^[37] was won by home riderSteve Cummings,^[38] who had previously finished second in 2008 and 2011. The race ran without a title sponsor for the first time since 2013 following the conclusion of a sponsorship agreement with Aviva in June of that year.^[39]

Glasgow hosted the race's Grand Départ for the first time in 10 years; as per the 2006 Tour, Castle Douglas also welcomed the first finish of the race, won byAndré Greipel. Cummings formed the basis of his overall victory by placing second onKendal's steep Beast Banks climb on stage two, before moving into the race lead after the individual time trial in Bristol on stage 7a (the 2016 race was the third and, at present, last edition to feature a split stage).Team Sky enjoyed a productive week, withIan Stannard soloing to a memorable victory atTatton Park andWout Poels taking victory atop a wind-swept Haytor on stage six. Poels' success followed his win on Hartside Pass in the 2015 race's hill-top finish stage. The 2016 Tour also proved to be the last professional race ofBradley Wiggins' cycling career before he retired from the sport. He placed 105th overall, riding for the eponymousWIGGINS squad.^[40]

The2017 Tour of Britain, which took place between Sunday 3 and Sunday 10 September, was won by Dutch riderLars Boom. TheLottoNL–Jumbo rider's victory saw him become the second rider to win the modern race overall for a second time followingEdvald Boasson Hagen's wins in 2009 and 2015.

This edition of the race was sponsored byOVO Energy, the first of three editions that the Bristol-based energy supply company were the title partner of. In another move that emphasised the race's status on the international cycling calendar,ITV4 broadcast each stage live in full for the first time.^[41]

Julian Alaphilippe became the first Frenchman to win the Tour of Britain since 2008 when he triumphed in the 2018 edition. Held between Sunday 2 and Sunday 9 September, the2018 Tour of Britain was watched by over 1.5 million roadside spectators and featured the likes ofChris Froome – his first participation in the event since 2009 – and that year'sTour de France championGeraint Thomas. Fittingly for Thomas, the race started in Wales, with the other seven stages taking place in England.

Outlining the event's innovative nature, the race's first-everteam time trial stage took place on day five of the Tour. Starting inCockermouth, the 14 km uphill stage finished atWhinlatter having climbed the western side of the fell. The following day's stage also finished atop Whinlatter, albeit after two ascents of its eastern side.^[42]

The2019 Tour of Britain, the first edition of the race to be run from Saturday to Saturday since 2010 (7 to 14 September),^[43] was won byMathieu van der Poel after a race-long battle with Italian riderMatteo Trentin (Mitchelton–Scott).

Together with compatriotDylan Groenewegen, van der Poel won three stages of the race, including theGreater Manchester finale on day eight – one that started in Altrincham and visited all 10 boroughs of the metropolitan county before finishing alongDeansgate. While the 2019 Tour was the first edition of the race since 2012 that did not visit London,Glasgow andNewcastle both featured along the route.

Scheduled to take place between Sunday 6 and Sunday 13 September, the 2020 Tour of Britain was due to start with its firstCornwall Grand Départ.^[44]Aberdeenshire andAberdeen were to host the final stage,^[45] marking the furthest point north the race would have visited. The race would have formed part of theUCI ProSeries, comprising the second tier of the men's elite road cycling events, launched by the sport's governing body for 2020. In May 2020, the 2020 edition was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 Tour of Britain followed the route scheduled for the 2020 edition.^[46]

The men's Tour of Britain race returned to its usual September format after the previous year's cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The race started on 5 September inPenzance, Cornwall, and finished on 12 September in Aberdeen, Scotland.

The race returned toYorkshire for the first time since 2009 and was scheduled to pass throughDorset for the first time.^[47] The final three stages were cancelled, and the race declared completed, due to thedeath of Elizabeth II.^[48]

The 2023 race began inManchester on 3 September and finished inCaerphilly on Sunday 10 September.

In late 2023,British Cycling terminated its agreement with race organiser and promoter SweetSpot due to a financial dispute; it was reported that SweetSpot was alleged to owe British Cycling £700,000 in unpaid licencing fees.^[49] In January 2024, SweetSpot entered liquidation, and the race was removed from the 2024 calendar.^[50][51] In February, British Cycling stated its intention to take on the organisation of both the Tour of Britain and the Women's Tour, which was renamed to theTour of Britain Women.^[52] Both Tours were eventually re-added to theUCI calendar.^[53] Although British Cycling initially intended the 2024 Tour of Britain Men to consist of eight stages, it was reduced to six, with the intention being also to extend the Tour of Britain Women to six stages in 2025, equalising the men's and women's tours.^[54] In May,Lloyds Bank agreed with British Cycling to become title partner of both the men's and women's Tours, a deal reportedly worth around £20 million over five years.^[55]

The 2024 edition began inKelso,Scottish Borders, on Tuesday 3 September, and concluded inFelixstowe,Suffolk on Sunday 8 September.^[56] The men's tour was won by Stevie Williams.^[57]

The 2025 edition started on Tuesday 2 September inWoodbridge, Suffolk, and finished on Sunday 7 September inCardiff.Romain Grégoire (Groupama–FDJ) won the general classification, withOlav Kooij (Visma–Lease a Bike) taking three stage wins. The race was notable for being the last professional race ofGeraint Thomas; the final stage ended in his hometown, Cardiff.^[58]

For 2026, the race will contract in length to five days from six, becoming equivalent to the women's event.^[59]

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