776 Miles in 8 Days – The Tour of Britain gets Underway

From Glasgow to Manchester, the Tour of Britain sees some of the best cyclists in the world take to the roads of Britain for a gruelling 8 day challenge covering 776 miles. This year the race focus is on Scotland and the North of England, with a return to Manchester for the finale, the first time The Tour has visited Manchester in 15 years. The mixture of city streets and grand English countryside will make a varied, tough, yet beautiful course with some hard climbs along the way such as the 11% climb of the aptly named Beast Bank that will be encountered at the end of Stage Four from Gateshead to Kendal.

A great chance to see some world class cyclists

There will of course be plenty of opportunity to get out on the roadsides of Britain and see the cyclist whiz by, or gather at the beginning or end of a stage for a guaranteed amazing atmosphere. With the UCI World Championships taking place next week in Yorkshire, it’s likely we’ll see more overseas cyclists in The Tour of Britain this year, getting in that extra practice before they head to Yorkshire for the World Championships.

The Tour of Britain Route

7^th September – Stage One – Glasgow to Kirkcudbright

8^th September – Stage Two – Kelso to Kelso (circular route)

9^th September – Stage Three – Berwick-upon-Tweed to Newcastle-upon-Tyne

10^th September – Stage Four – Gateshead to Kendal

11^th September – Stage Five – Birkenhead to Birkenhead (circular route)

12^th September – Stage Six – Pershore to Pershore (time trial)

13^th September – Stage Seven – Warwick to Burton Dassett Country Park

14^th September – Stage Eight – Altrincham to Manchester

Watching the race

There’s live coverage of every stage of The Tour on ITV4 starting at 10:15am for Stage 1 then 10:45am for Stages 2 to 8. Coverage continues through the day until around 3-4pm and highlights are also being shown later in the evening on ITV4 and Eurosport 1.

Get your Tour of Britain TOB plates now

We’ve got some special TOB plates ready and waiting for cycling fans. If you’re looking for new personalised number plates and you’re a cyclist or simply love watching the cycling races then why not pick one out for yourself? Prices start at just £199 for plates such as T600 TOB. Take your pick from a massive selection which includes G3 TOB, A6 TOB, Y3 TOB and TOB 1X.