Tour of Britain
The Tour of Britain is Britain’s leading men’s stage race and one of the most important races on the UCI ProSeries calendar. Held each September, nstantly changing route through Great Britain, combining fast sprint stages with rolling terrain, short steep climbs and demanding days in the hills.
When was the first edition of the Tour of Britain?
The roots of the Tour of Britain date back to 1945, when the Victory Cycling Marathon was organised to celebrate the end of the Second World War.
The race ran from Brighton to Glasgow across five stages and was won by French rider Robert Batot. It became one of the first major stage races to take place on British roads and laid the foundations for the national tours that followed.
The modern Tour of Britain was launched in 2004 after a five year absence from major national stage racing.
How did the Tour of Britain come into existence?
British stage racing began developing during the 1940s as organisers looked to create a national road race inspired by the major European tours.
Following the Victory Cycling Marathon in 1945, Britain’s leading stage race appeared under several different names and formats over the following decades. The most famous was the Milk Race, which ran from 1958 until 1993 and became one of the best known cycling events in Britain.
Professional versions followed, including the Kellogg’s Tour of Britain and the PruTour. After the PruTour ended in 1999, the race disappeared from the calendar before returning as the modern Tour of Britain in 2004.
The race continued to grow in international importance and is now part of the UCI ProSeries.
Who has won the Tour of Britain the most times?
No rider has won the Tour of Britain more than twice, with several riders sharing the record for the most overall victories across the different eras of the race.
Bill Bradley won consecutive editions of the Milk Race in 1959 and 1960. More recent multiple winners include Phil Anderson, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Lars Boom and Wout van Aert.
Van Aert claimed his victories in 2021 and 2023, while Boasson Hagen won in 2009 and 2015 and Boom took the overall title in 2011 and 2017.
Where is the Tour of Britain held?
The Tour of Britain is held across Great Britain, with the route changing significantly from year to year.
Stages can take the peloton through major cities, coastal roads, national parks, historic towns and some of Britain’s most challenging cycling terrain. England, Scotland and Wales have all regularly hosted stages, with locations such as Yorkshire, the Lake District, South Wales and the Scottish Borders providing some of the race’s most decisive terrain.
What category race is the Tour of Britain?
The Tour of Britain Men is classified as a UCI 2.Pro stage race and forms part of the UCI ProSeries, the second highest level of international men’s road cycling below the UCI WorldTour.
Its status attracts UCI WorldTeams, ProTeams, Continental teams and national selections, bringing some of the biggest names in professional cycling to British roads.
