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The host regions of the 2022 Tour of Britain have been revealed, with an anticipated return to Yorkshire and first-ever full stages in Dorset and Gloucestershire.
With the cycling industry enjoying a continued boom in the UK, there are hundreds of thousands of new and returning cyclists taking to two wheels with the Tour of Britain, the nation’s flagship race. A number of partnership opportunities remain available in 2022 including the naming rights title sponsorship of the Tour of Britain, and prestigious jerseys and daily awards.
This year’s Tour of Britain, taking place 4th-11th September, will visit the following regions:
– Stage one, Sunday 4th September, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire
– Stage two, Monday 5th September, South of Scotland
– Stage three, Tuesday 6th September, North East of England and Sunderland
– Stage four, Wednesday 7th September, Redcar and Cleveland and North Yorkshire
– Stage five, Thursday 8th September, Nottinghamshire
– Stage six, Friday 9th September, Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire
– Stage seven, Saturday 10th September, Dorset
– Stage eight, Sunday 11th September, Isle of Wight
Mick Bennett, Tour of Britain race director, said: “Announcing the locations of the Tour of Britain stages is always a day I look forward to greatly, as I know how much people want to watch the race from their own doorsteps!
“The 2022 race is shaping up to be another unforgettable edition of the race, particularly since we’re mixing familiar regions, with new areas, places we’ve never fully explored and those we’ve been unable to visit for many years. Hopefully today’s announcement whets the appetite while we finalise the routes of the eight stages – rest assured we’ve got some more surprises to come!”
Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire will host the race’s Grand Départ on 4th September, one year on from the region welcoming the final stage of the 2021 race. The Tour will start in Aberdeen, where a full weekend of activities to run alongside the race, including the Scottish Cycling Criterium Championships, is planned. The stage will finish in Aberdeenshire, taking a different route to the one raced in 2021.
The Tour will also return to Yorkshire for stage four (7th September) for the first time since 2009, when York welcomed the opening day’s finish. For the third edition running, Scotland will host multiple days of the race as a part of the country’s continuing commitment to hosting world-class racing ahead of the 2023 UCI Cycling Worlds, with more details and the location of the second stage to be announced in due course.
The Tour’s first foray into England comes on stage three, which will take in the North East and Sunderland. While a new venue to the modern race, Sunderland has recent experience welcoming cycling events, having hosted a round of the Tour Series domestic racing event last year.
The Tour returns to familiar terrain on day five as it heads to Nottinghamshire for the first time since 2018. The county has an acclaimed list of stage winners to its name, with former world champion Tom Boonen (2004), Tour de France stage winners Matteo Trentin (2015) and Fernando Gaviria (2017), and British rider Ian Stannard (2018) all previously victorious in Robin Hood Country.
While the 2016 race passed through the county, and the penultimate day of the 2017 event culminated in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire will host an entire stage of the Tour for the first time on 9th September with a route that will also take in South Gloucestershire. Stage six will mark the first of three-consecutive stages to take place in regions entirely new to the race, as Dorset makes its race debut on the penultimate day.
This will be followed by a finale to the 2022 Tour of Britain across the Solent on the Isle of Wight. The island will host its biggest-ever sporting event when this year’s overall champion is crowned on 11th September. The 2022 finale has been two years in the making, having first been announced in July 2020, with today’s announcement confirming that the seaside town of Ryde will host the start of the final stage.
Brian Facer, British Cycling chief executive, added: “I’m really excited to see the regions which will be hosting the Tour of Britain later this year. The race will go through both existing heartlands of the sport, along with other areas of the country which will give us the opportunity to introduce cycle sport and British Cycling to new people of all ages. Meanwhile those regions, from the north of Scotland to the Isle of Wight, will have a showcase which will be watched by a global TV audience.
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“Over the last few years, the Tour of Britain has become one of the world’s leading races, with global superstars coming to compete in our country. It has also given our up-and-coming young British riders the opportunity to test themselves against the best. 2022 will be no different, and it will be a brilliant eight days of racing in September.”
