2021 Tour of Britain: Mark Cavendish and other top cyclists to zoom across North East
British sporting heroes, Tokyo 2020 medallists, and world champions will all feature in this year’s Tour of Britain.
Cycling fans across the North of England are expected to line several streets between Carlisle and Gateshead for Stage Six of the race on Friday 10 September.
Over 100 riders - including sprinter Mark Cavendish, reigning UCI road world champion Julian Alaphilippe, and Olympic silver medalist Wout van Aert - are due to take part in event, which takes place between Sunday 5 and Sunday 12 September.
They will pass through Carlisle, Motherby, Penrith, Hartside, Killhope Cross, Burtree Fell and Prudhoe. The stage finishes beneath the Angel of the North in Gateshead.
Before reaching Carlisle, the cyclists will have passed through much of Cornwall, Devon, Wales and the North West.
They will then complete two stages in Scotland - finishing the week-long race on Aberdeen Esplanade.
Other Tour of Britain Stages
Stage Six is the event's second longest leg, close behind the 210km stretch between Aberaeron and Llandudno in Wales.
Passing through the North Pennines, it is also among the most demanding stages. As part of one of three ŠKODA King of the Mountains climbs, the riders will reach an elevation of 627m at the top of the Killhope Cross mountain pass.
Among those competing are:
Sprinter Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck – Quick-Step), winner of the most stages in modern Tour of Britain history
Tokyo 2020 medallists Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo – Visma), Ethan Hayter and Rohan Dennis (INEOS Grenadiers)
Reigning UCI road world champion Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step)
Former Tour of Britain stage winners Michal Kwiatkowski (INEOS Grenadiers), André Greipel, Alex Dowsett, Matthias Brändle (Israel Start – Up Nation) and Tony Martin (Team Jumbo – Visma)
Cycling stars Marc Soler (Movistar Team), Dan Martin, Michael Woods (Israel Start – Up Nation) and Richie Porte (INEOS Grenadiers)
Four of the race’s former ŠKODA King of the Mountains winners: Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin – Fenix), Lukasz Owsian (Team Arkéa – Samsic), Nic Dlamini (Team Qhubeka NextHash) and Jacob Scott (Canyon dhb SunGod)
Five reigning national road race champions, four reigning time trial champions
20 different nationalities represented
Deceuninck – Quick-Step, the most successful team in modern Tour of Britain history, will be led by fan favourites Cavendish and Alaphilippe.
Cavendish, from the Isle of Man, won the last three of his 10 stage victories in the 2013 competition. He returns to Britain after a successful Tour de France, in which he won four stages and the points jersey.
Frenchman Alaphilippe, who will be easily distinguishable to spectators in his world champion's rainbow jersey, has been tipped by many to repeat the overall victory he achieved in the 2018 race.
Tour of Britain race director Mick Bennett said: “The fact that we were unable to run the Tour of Britain in 2020 was enough to raise the excitement level going into this year’s event.
"Yet, combined with the truly spectacular and challenging route we’ve designed, the quality of this year’s start list makes me believe that we’re about to witness one of the most exciting editions of the modern race to date.
“We look forward to seeing the roads of Great Britain lined with spectators all the way from Penzance to Aberdeen, and I would encourage everybody planning to attend the race to respect their fellow spectators and, of course, the riders, as well as following local COVID-19 guidance. See you all next week – I can’t wait!”
Fans can watch the race unfold either on ITV4 or at the roadside.
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