This year’s Tour of Britain, which starts in the Scottish capital Edinburgh, will end in its Welsh counterpart Cardiff, marking the first time the race will have finished in Wales.
In between, North Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire will also host stages of the eight-day race for the first time, while Tendring in Essex will welcome an individual time trial on Stage 5.
The naming of Cardiff as the city that will host the end of the 1,310-kilometre race marks just the fourth time since organisers SweetSpot revived the Tour of Britain in 2004 that it will have finished outside London.
ITV4 will have four hours of coverage of the race – now sponsored by OVO energy – each day, three of them live.
The 20 teams that will take part in the race, which runs from Sunday 3 to Sunday 10 September, will be revealed in the Summer.
Race director Mick Bennett said: “This year’s OVO Energy Tour of Britain route is a race of firsts, with nine new venues welcoming the race plus our first overall start in the city of Edinburgh.
“We will be bringing Britain’s biggest professional cycle race to new areas this September and look forward to our first finish in Wales and the chance to race into Cardiff.
“We introduced summit finishes for the first time in 2013, this year we are giving a chance to the sprinters and rouleurs in the OVO Energy Tour of Britain.
“Following the success of the Tatton Park finish last year we have introduced several finishing circuits, this will add a new dimension for both the sprinter’s teams, who will get to see the finish beforehand, and the fans as a whole who will enjoy the spectacle of the race twice.
He added: “The addition of an individual time trial over a classic British 10-mile distance will be a great contest between our National Time Trial Champion Alex Dowsett, on his home roads in Essex, and the world’s best time trialists.”
Sunday 3 September will see the opening stage in Scotland, heading from Edinburgh’s Royal Mile to Kelso in the Scottish Borders, with Stage One featuring a spectator friendly loop through the finish.
2017 OVO Energy Tour of Britain route
Stage One – Sunday 3 September – Edinburgh to Kelso, 188km
Stage Two – Monday 4 September – Kielder Water & Forest Park to Blyth, 211km
Stage Three – Tuesday 5 September – Normanby Hall Country Park to Scunthorpe, 172km
Stage Four – Wednesday 6 September – Mansfield to Newark-on-Trent, 175km
Stage Five – Thursday 7 September – The Tendring Stage Individual Time Trial, 16km
Stage Six – Friday 8 September – Newmarket to Aldeburgh, 183km
Stage Seven – Saturday 9 September – Hemel Hempstead to Cheltenham, 186km
Stage Eight – Sunday 10 September – Worcester to Cardiff, 180km
28 thoughts on “Tour of Britain 2017 route revealed with Edinburgh start and Cardiff finish”
Glad it is coming to Wales,
Glad it is coming to Wales, but disappointed that none of the decent mountains are being used.
Edinburgh route, going to
Edit: nevermind, they’ve put the routes up now. My services no longer needed
Here in Devon we have been
Here in Devon we have been spoilt for the last couple of years, so can’t really expect it back again next year. It’s good to see it going to new places but I shall miss it. I agree with the above, a Welsh mountain or two wouldn’t go amiss, perhaps as a stage finish in place of Haytor
I’ve seen the tour the past
I’ve seen the tour the past four years, so I’ll be hoping to get along to see it at some point this year, though it’s not really anywhere near me. It looks like my best bet will be riding 90odd miles from Bolton to Scunthorpe and then getting the train back.
I might strike out over the
I might strike out over the Severn Bridge to Chepstow to catch a glimpse, though need a better view of the route to plan where to see it. Caught it just south of Chipping Sodbury after riding out from home last year as it passed by pretty local. Think Wiggo was at the back when the peloton rolled through!
Once again Kent misses out
Once again Kent misses out
I think the Tour of Britain
I think the Tour of Britain should finish in London every year, just like how Tour de France always finishes in Paris and Vuelta a Espana in Madrid. It’s a symbolism that cyling is a part of the nation’s sporting psyche.
rliu wrote:
Fairly reasoned, but “the nation” isn’t London. 🙂
ped wrote:
And of course Britain comprises 3 countries, so starting in Edinburgh and finishing in Cardiff is entirely fitting.
quiff wrote:
Basque and Catalan peoples similarly object to the Vuelta finishing in Madrid, though luckily they also have their own regional/national tours (being sensitive to the separatist movements there). So perhaps we could also have separate Scottish and Welsh races to cater for that viewpoint? More cycle races in Britain the better from my point of view.
No one is ever happy with this.
London every time. Really? To
London every time. Really? To many of us who live outside that dump London is very much not representative of the UK. If anything its represents all that is so wrong about the UK. The big tours have nearly 3 times as many days so can waste one. The last day of the TdF is dull and pointless apart from the last 500 metres. The last day of our tour with fewer days should be the one that decides the results not a procession. Huge time bonuses maybe to stop the leader playing safe.
Of course 4 weeks would be nice and if only they would use proper hills. Wouldn’t the Fred Whitton route make a nice stage?
mattsccm wrote:
I agree that a 8 day stage race shouldn’t have any ceremonial stages, but the format in previous years where you had a morning TT then a short 8-10 lap crit course in the afternoon served both purposes of having a competitive final day and a bit of a round up stage in one.
mattsccm wrote:
I totally agree its a complete waste of a stage day finishing in London, even though its far easier for me to get to than other stages, just because you do end up with glorified crit that no team with a leader in the yellow jersey is going to let get out of their control. The difference with the TdF is that the Paris finish is the symbol of making it through the 3 weeks where youve ridden through a good proportion of France already,and the yellow jersey leader team are only concerned with finishing,mostly not always of course, which allows the sprinters a good final chance of victory. Its not the tag on end stage of the Tour of the Midlands.
so definitely the Tour of Britain should look to follow this type of format more often
mattsccm wrote:
That dump has 10 to 12 million people in it so if it is important that this race or sport has interaction with it’s audience, or even to get the sponsors advertising (that pay for it) infront of people, maybe it is a good idea it goes near that dump. There are also many ways to make the race interesting unlike the last stage of the TDF.
Quote:
Once in the last two years isn’t bad! There are rumours about the race being down this way next year. Perhaps even Cornwall, although they will struggle to find anywhere flat enouph!
For the 2017 route – looks very sprinter happy. But I also see a number of finishes near the coast… could crosswinds be a factor?
Kielder in September?!
Kielder in September?!
Half the field will be carried off by the killer midges!
Quote:
The Women’s tour will be taking the London finish this year – and that’s fair enouph. To be honest, the london ‘crit’ stage is only interesting in the last lap. Perhaps Cardiff will be better?
Must be Mad wrote:
Champs Elysees stage is hardly interesting. It’s just the symbolism. It doesn’t make sense to have a national tour without going to the nation’s capital. And I’m normally the least nationalistic person in a given room.
One of the fantastic things
One of the fantastic things about watching coverage of the Grand Tours is that they are rolling shop windows showing off many of the beautiful and impressive regions of Italy/France/Spain accordingly that potential tourists might see and want to visit, and the same usually applies to all the other Pro Tour races on the calendar. Plus it usually add interest to the racing. TOB never seems to quite grasp this concept, and all too often manages to skirt around the more scenic and challenging parts of the UK.
To me at least, this years route seems even less interesting with very few climbs to properly test the racers. For example the stage into Cardiff could have been made so much better by taking in the Black Mountains!
Still I suppose we should be thankful that the organisers have managed to break their habit of visiting Stoke!
Dicklexic wrote:
Wholeheartedly agree. Would only have needed a slight change from Hereford to have included Hay Bluff and / or The Tumble.
Dicklexic wrote:
Any time you want to come to Northumberland and visit the notorious flatlands between Kielder and Rothbury, you’ll be very welcome. There are no hills there at all, not one, and as people who’ve ridden the Wooler Wheel and the like can tell you, getting from Wooler to Belford is a mere canter across rolling meadows (cough!).
And after all that, just in time for the Tv broadcast, comes the notoriously unscenic route past Alnwick and Bamburgh castles, and down the coast to Seaton Delaval Hall. Not a listed building, beautiful castle or famous Harry Potter filmset in sight, I’m sure you’ll agree….
<sighs> if only these pesky organizers could get it right….
The route in Wales is about
The route in Wales is about the flattest they could have possibly found which is a real shame.
This course has been made for
This course has been made for Alex Dowsett to win and he doesn’t do hills but he loves a 10. Just as this year’s TdF is made for Bardet, (well, they live in hope). Living in Cambridge I can probably cycle to 3 stages this year, not bad at all. Last year it was the weather as much as the hills that were decisive and given the exposed nature of the East of England generally winds could be a factor.
Alan Tullett wrote:
given the nature of Clacton-on-Sea, pushchairs on fire could be a factor!
Sorry to have to repeat this,
Sorry to have to repeat this, again: the route is dictated by which councils will support the ToB.
If the ToB hasn’t been to your local area, perhaps ask your council rather than moan on the internet? They’ll never do a totally rural route as there’s no money in it. Instead of quieter roads, they sometimes choose routes past schools as that’s what the councils want – it’s to inspire the next generation, and not always look as picureseque on the telly.
On a similar theme, London already has a lot of cycling events on this year, so perhaps the funding for another visit wasn’t there?
Stage 3: looks like you could
Stage 3: looks like you could see them pass four times if you scurry around on your own bike in that middle knot.
fustuarium wrote:
A few of my mates are already planning to watch the peloton come up Winters Gibbet on Stage 2 (it’s the logical way for it to go) then scoot across to Morpeth while the race goes the scenic route. It’s only a shame that, if 2015 is anything to go by, Blyth will be rammed full of spectators making a dash to the finish not worthwhile.