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Consisting of 8 gruelling stages, the 2016 edition of the Tour of Britain starts in Glasgow on September 4th and finishes in London on September 11th.

20 world-class teams will compete, including 10 World Tour teams fresh from the Tour de France, in what has been described by race director Mick Bennett as a "great preparation for the World Championships", which takes place 3 weeks later than usual this year.

The tour features an individual time trial round Bristol, plus a thrilling 16 lap finale of the same London course as the 2015 edition.

1,281.6km
Total Distance
20,507m
Total Ascent
3
Countries
8
Stages
20
Teams
4
Leaders' Jerseys
150,000
Avg. Spectators/Stage
 

Tour is over, if you want it

The first half of the 2016 Tour of Britain was pretty gripping and from the midway point onwards it kept up the pace delivering closer racing, supported eagerly by massive crowds throughout the country.

At the end of my last update, Steve Cummings had managed to hang in there just 6 seconds behind race leader Vermotte of Etix/Quickstep. With every stage so far being pretty darn explosive, could he manage to pull out enough time to be on the top step in London? With a time trial looming on stage 7a, specialists such as Tony Mart & Tom Dumoulin must have had an eye on eating into the leaders’ advantage and throwing their own gauntlets down.

Stage 5 hopped the border between Wales and the Southwest on a long day in the saddle which saw a tantalising battle as the breakaway managed to stay ahead enough to toy with each other in the final few kms. A popular stage win from Jack Bauer almost didn’t happen as the fast approaching peloton picked up the pace relentlessly, but the Kiwi from Cannondale/Drapac held out just enough to cross the line first, but with the bunch of sprinters so close they finished on the same time.

In stark contrast to the previous day’s finish in Bath, the steep finish at Haytor guaranteed there wasn’t going to be any bunch finish on Stage 6. The climb had been identified as one to shake up the GC when the route was announced and it delivered in uncompromising stlye. The relentless gradients saw Sky’s Wout Poels take the spoils on the day, but more importantly they cracked race leader Vermotte early on, losing nearly two minutes on the final climb and conceding the leader’s jersey to Dimension Data’s GB rider Steve Cummings.

The next day saw a split stage; a short time trial in the morning followed by a short road stage. If time gaps were expected on Stage 6, they were guaranteed in the TT. Tony Martin put on a display of class that you’d expect of a multiple world TT champion to take the win, covering the 15km course in 18:06. Rohan Dennis & Tom Dumoulin rounded out the podium, but importantly from a GB perspective Steve Cummings came in 4th - 15 seconds behind Martin, but crucially ahead of all of his GC rivals to extend his lead going into the afternoon’s road stage with an advantage of 38 seconds.

Rohan Dennis of BMC must have just used the TT as a warm up, as he successfully attacked late in Stage 7b to take the stage win just a few hours after coming second in the race against the clock. This performance closed Cumming's to 26 seconds but with just one flat stage to go, where no-one is expected to stay away from the bunch, it might’ve been a case of too little, too late.

And indeed the final stage down in London town finished in a bunch sprint. An excellent display of power from the compact Australian sprinter Caleb Ewan of Orica-Bike Exchange put more than enough space between him and the rest to take the final stage. Cummings managed to come in on the same time as Ewan to complete a textbook week of racing and take the honours as race leader.

So all in all we had one hell of a stage race across the streets of the UK. Throughout Scotland, England and Wales we saw close, exciting racing from some of the finest riders in the world. But what clearly made it all the more special was the level of interest and support from the British public. Well done you. You all deserve a pat on the back.

Image © AFP/Getty Images

 

Latest Results

Stage 8 - Top 10 (11th September - The London Stage - 99.2km)

# Rider Country Team Time
1 EWAN Caleb Australia Orica-BikeExchange 2h 09' 24''
2 GROENEWEGEN Dylan Netherlands Team Lotto NL - Jumbo + 00' 00''
3 DEBUSSCHERE Jens Belgium Lotto-Soudal + 00' 00''
4 VAN POPPEL Boy Netherlands Trek - Segafredo + 00' 00''
5 VIVIANI Elia Italy Team Sky + 00' 00''
6 GREIPEL André Germany Great Britain + 00' 00''
7 MCLAY Daniel Great Britain Orica-BikeExchange + 00' 00''
8 VON HOFF Steele Australia ONE Pro Cycling + 00' 00''
9 RUFFONI Nicola Italy Bardiani CSF + 00' 00''
10 SIMION Paolo Italy Bardiani CSF + 00' 00''

Final General classification - Top 10

# Rider Country Team Time
1 CUMMINGS Stephen Great Britain Etixx - Quick Step 31h 30' 45''
2 DENNIS Rohan Australia Dimension Data + 00' 26''
3 DUMOULIN Tom Netherlands Team Sky + 01' 38''
4 GALLOPIN Tony France Lotto-Soudal + 01' 02''
5 VAN BAARLE Dylan Netherlands Etixx - Quick Step + 01' 21''
6 ROCHE Nicolas Ireland Wanty-Groupe Gobert + 01' 26''
7 MEURISSE Xandro Belgium Cannondale Drapac + 01' 48''
8 SWIFT Ben Great Britain Team Giant-Alpecin + 01' 52''
9 VERMOTE Julien Belgium Trek - Segafredo + 02' 12''
10 MOSCA Jacopo Italy Team Sky + 02' 32''
 

The Teams

This year's tour will see 20 of the world's top teams competing, including 10 UCI WorldTour teams:

  An Post Chain Reaction (IRL)
  Bardiani CSF (ITA)
  BMC Racing Team (USA)
  Cannondale Drapac Pro Cycling Team (USA)
  Caja Rural - Seguros RGA (SPA)
  Great Britain National Team (GBR)
  JLT Condor presented by Mavic (GBR)
  Lotto Soudal (BEL)
  ONE Pro Cycling (GBR)
  Orica BikeExchange (AUS)
  Madison Genesis (GBR)
  Movistar Team (SPA)
  NFTO (GBR)
  Team Dimension Data (RSA)
  Team Giant Alpecin (GER)
  Team LottoNL Jumbo (NED)
  Team Sky (GBR)
  Team WIGGINS (GBR)
  Trek Segafredo (USA)
  Wanty Groupe Gobert (BEL)
 

The Route

 
Stage Date Start / Finish Ascent Distance
1 4th September Glasgow / Castle Douglas 1,854 m 161.6 km
  "The 2016 Grand Depart will see the riders role out from George Square in Glasgow on Sunday 4 September as the race returns to Scotland's largest city for the first time in 10 years in a repeat of the opening stage from 2006."
2 5th September Carlisle / Kendal 3,715 m 188.2 km
  "Stage Two will see the Tour of Britain return to Cumbria once again on Monday 5 September as the county emphatically declares itself 'open for business' after this winter's devastating flooding, with a stage from Carlisle city centre to the tough finishing climb of Beast Banks in Kendal, via Cockermouth, Keswick and Ambleside."
3 6th September Congleton / Tatton Park, Knutsford 2,146 m 179.4 km
  "Stage Three on Tuesday 6 September sees the riders take on a tightly wound route situated entirely within Cheshire East, marking the first time that the Borough has hosted a stage of British Cycling's premier road cycling event."
4 7th September Denbigh / Builth Wells 4,225 m 218.0 km
  "The longest stage of the 2016 Tour of Britain will be Stage Four on Wednesday 7 September with a gruelling day in the saddle comprising of 217 kilometres through the heart of Mid-Wales and Denbighshire, Flintshire and Powys."
5 8th September Aberdare / Bath 3,292 m 194.5 km
  "Stage Five will prove to be another tough day on the road on Thursday 8 September, covering 205 kilometres and 3,675m of climbing, taking the Tour of Britain across South Wales and into Gloucestershire and the finish in the stunning UNESCO World Heritage city of Bath."
6 9th September Sidmouth / Haytor, Dartmoor 3,139 m 149.9 km
  "After a year's absence from the Tour of Britain, Devon is back with another challenging stage on Friday 9 September, including the race's summit finish for this year, coming at the top of the six-kilometre climb of Haytor, above Bovey Tracey in the Dartmoor National Park."
7 10th September Bristol - Time Trial / Circuit Race 1,380 m 90.0 km
  "The city of Bristol will host the penultimate day of racing in the 2016 Tour of Britain on Saturday 10 September with a double-stage including both an individual time trial and a circuit race. With so many opportunities to see the world's top riders in action on a 15-kilometre circuit, Bristol is sure to attract thousands of cycling fans from across the country."
8 11th September The London Stage 756 m 100.0 km
  "Sunday 11 September will see the Tour of Britain conclude in the heart of London, using the same highly popular circuit as used by the 2015 edition of British Cycling's premier road cycling event."
 

Videos

Stage 8 Highlights

Stage 7b Highlights

 
 

 

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