The Tour of Britain returns today (1 September) after an absence of five years with the finest quality field of professional cyclists ever assembled in its long history (those with long enough memories might recall this as the Milk Race!).
The Tour starts in Manchester and ends on Sunday at Westminster in London. Watch out for coverage on national and local TV and in the press - BBC Grandstand covers the final stage on Sunday afternoon.
We all wish 'Team CSC' good luck and will be following their progress over the coming days.
Sixteen teams will battle it out over five days of rugged riding to achieve overall pole position on the podium in London on Sunday September 5. The winner will be the rider who has ridden all five stages in the least amount of time but the riders will also be competing to win the individual stages, the overall points competition, and the titles of the best climber and the best sprinter.
Team CSC are fielding 6 of their riders - Kurt-Asle Arvesen; Michele Bartoli; Michael Blaudzun; Tristan Hoffman; Andrea Peron; and Nicki Sørensen.
The Five Stages are as follows:
Stage 1 - Wednesday September 1Start at SportCity in Manchester with a route that takes in Greater Manchester and Lancashire and finishes at Urbis in Corporation Street, Manchester.
Stage 2 - Thursday September 2Start in Millennium Square, Leeds and race through Yorkshire to finish in Pinstone Street, Sheffield.
Stage 3 - Friday September 3Start at Bakewell Agricultural Centre and race through Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire with the finish on Victoria Embankment in Nottingham.
Stage 4 - Saturday September 4Newport and South East Wales will host a 120 mile stage that will take in some challenging climbs.
Stage 5 - Sunday September 545 laps of a circuit where the riders race clockwise from the start in Whitehall, into Northumberland Avenue, down the Embankment, into Bridge Street and finish in Whitehall.
Find out more at the official
Tour of Britain web site or the
Team CSC web site.
