Tour of Britain - Blog

A belated Happy New Year

19/01/2012

Well we're three weeks into 2012 already, and preparations for the year ahead and intensifying all of the time.

This is the time of year where we begin to get really busy as plans for The Tour of Britain (and of course The Tour Series) come together. So for all our various teams the long road trips out to begin planning stage routes, start locations, finish straights and all of the various commercial and marketing agreements that come with these have begun, and won't stop until October! So look out for our three trusty Skoda Superbs on the roads of the UK - all of ...

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Approaching Winter

03/11/2011

It may be approaching The Tour of Britain's quietest months of mid-Winter, but even so there's still a lot going on off the back of the 2011 Tour, and looking ahead to next year's events.

The main job at the moment for the commercial and technical teams are the many debriefs which have to take place with all of our partners, venues and suppliers. It's a chance for everyone to discuss what went right, iron out any minor problems and also to begin to look ahead to next year's race, so an exciting time as we slowly see ideas and the 2012 Tour unfold before us. There's ...

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Time flies by!

12/10/2011

Wow we can't believe it's been almost a month since The Tour of Britain 2011 came to its conclusion at the heart of London. Despite what you may think, it's not a case of immediately downing tools and putting your feet up, almost as much hard work goes into post-Tour as it does pre-Tour.

First up we had The Prostate Cancer Charity Tour Ride Stoke-on-Trent, which proved to be our biggest ride of the year. Thanks to all of the 1,400 people who took part in the Pro and Challenge Rides, we're just sorry the weather wasn't better for you all.

So after unpacking ...

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Another HTC win!

15/09/2011

Yet another stage win for the HTC Highroad team. So that's 500 and counting!

This time Mark Renshaw took first place with team mate Mark Cavendish right on his wheel, and Robert Forster following closely behind.

Lars Boom, riding for Rabobank, kept hold of the IG Markets Gold Jersey, while Geraint Thomas pulled on The Prostate Cancer Charity Points Jersey for 'real'. This morning in Exeter and on today's stage you'd have seen him wearing it for Lars, as Geraint was second in the standings, but the leader's jersey takes precedent.

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World class win in Caerphilly

14/09/2011

What a sight it was watching the World Champion in his rainbow jersey cross the finish line in Caerphilly with his arms raised in celebration. Thor Hushovd flew down the finish straight, leaving IG Markets Gold Jersey wearer Lars Boom with second place.

The cheers from the crowds resonated through the town, with the excitement of the close group finish as the riders came whizzing down Caerphilly Mountain and into the final corner before battling it out over the final 200 metres. We think only a Geraint Thomas victory could have raised the roof more in Caerphilly!

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Boom goes Stoke-on-Trent

13/09/2011

BOOM goes the winner of Stage Three of The Tour of Britain as Lars Boom of Rabobank crosses the finish line first. What an exciting day of racing… Two Rabobank boys picked up first and second place, Boom winning the IG Markets Gold Jersey and Michael Matthews following closely behind. Mark Cavendish placed fifth, keeping The Prostate Cancer Charity Points Jersey.

The Italian Gardens in Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent, was the perfect setting for The Tour today with the sun shining, keeping everyone smiling. It was a stunning view this morning looking out over the gardens ...

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The Tour gets underway

11/09/2011

Wow what a great few days we've had in Scotland! By Friday evening most of the staff from The Tour of Britain office had arrived at the HQ Hotel in Edinburgh en mass in the fleet of Skodas – including Octavias, Superbs and the increasingly popular Yeti! We all got a few funny looks on our travels as we drove the fully-branded Skoda cars across the county… We always forget how eye-catching they are! Even abroad! On a recent trip to the ENECO Tour one of the Superbs became quite an attraction for cycling fans in Maastricht.

If you see us out on ...

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Cool for Cav

07/09/2011

The office has been buzzing ever since we received the fantastic news that Mark Cavendish, riding for HTC- Highroad, is coming to The Tour of Britain this year.

What an incredible line up we have! We can't wait to see these World-Class riders battle it out on the British roads for the prestigious IG Markets Gold Jersey.

We have a real diversity of stages this year, from the flat and fast London stage to the mountainous stage in Wales… The riders' limits are sure to be tested!

Everyone in the office is looking forward to seeing the beautiful ...

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One week to go!

02/09/2011

The final preparations of The Tour are now well underway, with the phones busily ringing and people in and out of the office non-stop. With many of the provisional team line ups now confirmed it is looking to be an exciting race, with the likes of World Champion Thor Hushovd riding for Garmin-Cervelo and our own British Team Sky riders, Olympic Gold Medallist Geraint Thomas and Ben Swift, one to watch in the Yodel Sprints.

Many of our team are travelling the 350miles up to Scotland today for the Prostate Cancer Charity Tour Ride taking place on Sunday; let's hope the ...

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Thor set to take on The Tour

23/08/2011

We hope that everyone has seen the great news that World Champion Thor Hushovd is coming to the Tour of Britain this September! Everyone in the office is excited at the prospect of seeing the rainbow stripes in action on The Tour. We cannot wait to see Thor and his Garmin- Cervelo team mate David Millar take on the roads of Great Britain.

There are lots more exciting team and rider announcements to come over the next week- all to be made available online.

The Tour is keeping us busy in the office with everyone completing the final touches for the preparations ...

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