Tour of Britain 2015 route unveiled - Anglesey to London via Edinburgh

September’s Friends Life Tour of Britain will start on Anglesey in Wales and head through northern England on its way to and from the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, before what promises to be a spectacular finale on a brand new circuit in London.

Unveiled at Wembley Stadium this evening, the race, now ranked 2.HC by the UCI, will start in Wales for the first time ever, and also makes its first visit to Edinburgh since it was relaunched in 2004 by current organisers, SweetSpot.

In recent years, the race, which ends a week before the UCI Road World Championships, has been toughened up and is increasingly chosen over the Vuelta as preparation by those with an eye on the rainbow jersey – Michal Kwiatowski and Sir Bradley Wiggins, respectively road and time trial world champions, both made the podium last year.

It’s also a race though that gives young riders a chance to show themselves and last year was no exception, with 22-year-old Garmin-Sharp rider Dylan van Baarle a surprise winner of the overall.

Here are full details, in the organisers’ words, of the route of September’s race, which runs from 6-13 September and concludes with a stage on a very compact Y-shaped circuit in London, centred on Trafalgar Square with its prongs at Regent Street, Aldwych and Parliament Square.

Stage One       

Sunday 6 September                

Beaumaris, Anglesey to Wrexham, 177km

Having welcomed the Friends Life Tour of Britain annually since 2010, Wales will play host to the opening stage for the first time in the modern race's history, with a stage which will take in all six regions of North Wales as it heads from Anglesey to Wrexham. It will also be the first time that the race has started on an island.

Stage Two       

Monday 7 September               

Clitheroe to Colne, 162km

Stage Two sees the race return to the heart of Lancashire for the first time since 2010, with Ribble Valley and Pendle playing host to a stage from Clitheroe to Colne, which will pass through the Forest of Bowland and Dunsop Bridge, the geographic centre of the United Kingdom.

Stage Three     

Tuesday 8 September               

Cockermouth to Floors Castle, Kelso, 216km

Cockermouth in Cumbria will be the start venue for the first of two stages to include Scotland, with Stage Three heading through Carlisle, Dumfries & Galloway and the Scottish Borders to the finish in the grounds of Floors Castle at Kelso.

Stage Four       

Wednesday 9 September          

Edinburgh to Blyth, 218km

A second Scottish stage will begin from Holyrood Park in Edinburgh, showcasing some of the city's iconic landscapes before heading through the Borders and Northumberland to the finish on the coast in Blyth.

Stage Five       

Thursday 10 September            

Prudhoe to Hartside Fell, 171km

Stage Five will trace Hadrian's Wall from Prudhoe in Northumberland into Cumbria and the Lake District before finishing atop Hartside Fell in the Pennines.  At five-miles long and 1,904-feet high, the climb will provide the highest and toughest summit finish in the modern Tour of Britain's history.

Stage Six         

Friday 11 September                

Stoke-on-Trent to Nottingham, 189km

Friday 11 September's stage will join two English cities with the peloton racing from Stoke-on-Trent to Nottingham, the latter returning to the route for the first time since 2012.

Stage Seven    

Saturday 12 Septmber              

Fakenham to Ipswich, 225km

The penultimate stage will be the longest of the 2015 Friends Life Tour of Britain at 225-kilometres, heading from Fakenham in Norfolk to Ipswich in Suffolk, before the final stage in the centre of London.

Stage Eight      

Saturday 13 September            

London stage presented by TfL, 93km

The London stage presented by Transport for London will feature an entirely new route in 2015, starting and finishing on Regent Street St James and providing an iconic backdrop for Britain's biggest professional cycle race which will take in Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, the Strand and Whitehall.

Race director Mick Bennett said: "Overall we are absolutely delighted with the course for the 2015 Friends Life Tour of Britain and believe it offers something for everybody across eight very different stages.

"Our hope and intention is to again encourage eight days of aggressive, uninhibited racing, the sort of action that we hope is becoming the trademark of the race.

“We want our national Tour to reflect the tough terrain which is part and parcel of our cycling scene in the UK, and to showcase both the race and the British countryside to spectators at the roadside and to the television audience both at home and around the world.”

British Cycling president Bob Howden, added: "At British Cycling, we measure the success of our major events strategy by the number of people who watch and are then inspired to participate in our sport and, as our national stage race and the biggest event of the year, the growing popularity of the Friends Life Tour of Britain is further proof that in this country cycling has never been in better health.

"This year's route will excite any fan of cycling and further boosts the Friends Life Tour of Britain's reputation as one of world cycling's must-watch races, but it will also give people all over Britain a chance to see some of the world's best riders in action and encourage them to get out on their bikes.”

Commenting on the final stage, Transport for London’s director of surface strategy and planning, Ben Plowden, said: "It's fantastic to be able to welcome back Britain's biggest professional cycle race to the streets of the London.

“With a revamped route touching new areas of the city, I've no doubt that this year's race will inspire a new breed of cyclists, who will soon be able to make use of our new and upgraded cycling infrastructure, including segregated Cycle Superhighways.”

ITV will broadcast three hours’ live coverage of each stage, as well as a one-hour highlights programme each evening.