OVO Energy Tour of Britain announced its route for the 2017 edition, linking the capitals of Scotland and Wales by starting from Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and finishing in Cardiff city centre outside City Hall eight days later.
The eight stages of the 2017 route will cover over 1,310-kilometres, September 3-10. Nine new venues are included, with Tendring in Essex hosting an individual time trial.
“This year’s OVO Energy Tour of Britain route is a race of firsts, with nine new venues welcoming the race plus our first overall start in the city of Edinburgh,” said race director Mick Bennett. “We will be bringing Britain’s biggest professional cycle race to new areas this September and look forward to our first finish in Wales and the chance to race into Cardiff.
“We introduced summit finishes for the first time in 2013, this year we are giving a chance to the sprinters and rouleurs in the OVO Energy Tour of Britain. Following the success of the Tatton Park finish last year we have introduced several finishing circuits, this will add a new dimension for both the sprinter’s teams, who will get to see the finish beforehand, and the fans as a whole who will enjoy the spectacle of the race twice.
Twenty teams will line up for the race, with an announcement of the squads taking part due in the summer. Stevphen Cummings (Dimension Data) won the 2016 edition of the race.
2017 Tour of Britain
Stage 1: Sunday 3 September – Edinburgh to Kelso, 188km
Stage 2: Monday 4 September – Kielder Water & Forest Park to Blyth, 211km
Stage 3: Tuesday 5 September – Normanby Hall Country Park to Scunthorpe, 172km
Stage 4: Wednesday 6 September – Mansfield to Newark-on-Trent, 175km
Stage 5: Thursday 7 September – The Tendring Stage Individual Time Trial, 16km
Stage 6: Friday 8 September – Newmarket to Aldeburgh, 183km
Stage 7: Saturday 9 September – Hemel Hempstead to Cheltenham, 186km
Stage 8: Sunday 10 September – Worcester to Cardiff, 180km
