World’s best cyclists heading for Exeter next week in the Tour of Britain
Published: 31 August 2021
British sporting heroes, Tokyo 2020 Olympic medallists, world champions and former stage and jersey winners will all feature in this year’s Tour of Britain when it arrives in Exeter next week.
Devon will host Stage Two of the Tour on Monday 6 September, starting in Sherford and finishing in Exeter.
Just days away from the start of the race, the provisional line-ups for the 18 competing teams have today been revealed.
The field of riders includes five reigning national road race champions and four reigning time trial champions – with 20 different nationalities represented.
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)
The 115-mile Devon Stage will feature 3,499 metres of climbing between Sherford and Exeter.
It will take in a number of communities on its way through the South Hams and across Dartmoor, including Ermington, Totnes, Dartmouth, Kingsbridge, Modbury, Ivybridge, Cornwood, Yelverton, Tavistock, Princetown, Moretonhampstead and Dunsford.
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!”
The Tour’s opening stage on Sunday 5 September is in Cornwall, and the 2021 champion will be crowned in Aberdeen on Sunday 12 September.
The Tour of Britain is shown live and in full on ITV4, as well as in over 150 countries around the world, and attracts an annual roadside audience of over 1.4 million fans.
For more information go to www.devontourofbritain.co.uk and www.tourofbritain.co.uk. The Tour’s Code of Conduct relating to Covid-19 advice can be found on its website.
On Twitter follow www.twitter.com/DevonToB or on Facebook Tour of Britain Devon Stage www.facebook.com/tobdevonstage/ or Instagram www.instagram.com/devontob