The host regions for this year’s Tour of Britain (4-11 September) combine a return to areas familiar to the Tour with those that will see the free-to-watch event aiming to break new ground in 2022.
This year’s Tour of Britain will visit the following regions:
- Stage one: Sunday 4 September – Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire
- Stage two: Monday 5 September – South of Scotland
- Stage three: Tuesday 6 September – North East of England and Sunderland
- Stage four: Wednesday 7 September – Redcar & Cleveland and North Yorkshire
- Stage five: Thursday 8 September – Nottinghamshire
- Stage six: Friday 9 September – Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire
- Stage seven: Saturday 10 September – Dorset
- Stage eight: Sunday 11 September – Isle of Wight
The Tour organiser, SweetSpot, reported that the September 2021 event saw a roadside crowd of over one million spectators. This resulted in the Tour of Britain reportedly generating £29.96m of net economic benefit for the UK economy, according to research by Frontline.
Last year’s star-studded race was won by Belgian rider Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo – Visma), with reigning world road race champion Julian Alaphilippe finishing third overall.
A number of partnership opportunities remain available in 2022 including the naming rights title sponsorship of the Tour of Britain, and jerseys and daily awards.
Never before will the Tour of Britain have started so far north than when Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire hosts the race’s Grand Départ on Sunday 4 September, one year on from the region welcoming the final stage of the 2021 race.
The Tour will start in the city of Aberdeen, where a full weekend of activities is set to run alongside the race, including the Scottish Cycling Criterium Championships. The stage will finish in Aberdeenshire, taking a different route to the one raced in 2021, which will bring the event into the heart of new communities.
For the third edition running, Scotland will host multiple days of the race as a part of the country’s continuing commitment to hosting world-class racing ahead of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow. More details and the location of the second stage in South Scotland is to be announced in due course.
The Tour’s first foray into England comes on stage three, which will take in the North East and Sunderland. While a new venue to the modern race, Sunderland has recent experience welcoming cycling events, having hosted a round of the Tour Series domestic racing event last year.
The Tour will return to Yorkshire for stage four (Wednesday 7 September) for the first time since 2009, when York welcomed the opening day’s finish. A hotbed of cycling in the UK, a large crowd is anticipated for this stage.
The Tour returns to familiar terrain on day five as it heads to Nottinghamshire for the first time since 2018.
While the 2016 race passed through the county, and the penultimate day of the 2017 event culminated in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire will host an entire stage of the Tour for the first time on Friday 9 September with a route that will also take in South Gloucestershire. Stage six will mark the first of three-consecutive stages to take place in regions entirely new to the race, as the county of Dorset makes its race debut on the penultimate day.
This will be followed by a finale to the 2022 Tour of Britain across the Solent on the Isle of Wight. Known for its annual music festival, the island will host its biggest-ever sporting event when this year’s overall champion is crowned on Sunday 11 September.
Mick Bennett, Tour of Britain Race Director, said “Announcing the locations of the Tour of Britain stages is always a day I look forward to greatly, as I know how much people want to watch the race from their own doorsteps.
“The 2022 race is shaping up to be another unforgettable edition of the race, particularly since we’re mixing familiar regions, with new areas, places we’ve never fully explored and those we’ve been unable to visit for many years.”
Brian Facer, British Cycling CEO, added “I’m really excited to see the regions which will be hosting the Tour of Britain later this year. The race will go through both existing heartlands of the sport, along with other areas of the country which will give us the opportunity to introduce cycle sport and British Cycling to new people of all ages. Meanwhile those regions, from the north of Scotland to the Isle of Wight, will have a showcase which will be watched by a global TV audience.
“Over the last few years, the Tour of Britain has become one of the world’s leading races, with global superstars coming to compete in our country. It has also given our up-and-coming young British riders the opportunity to test themselves against the best. 2022 will be no different, and it will be a brilliant eight days of racing in September.”
While spectators can watch all the action by the roadside for free, race day hospitality packages offer prime views of stage starts and finishes, complete with fine dining experiences.
ITV4 will continue to broadcast live coverage of every stage, as well as a nightly highlights show, allowing fans in the UK to watch wherever they are. The race will also be shown in over 150 countries worldwide, in part thanks to the event’s partnerships with Eurosport and the Global Cycling Network (GCN).
