The men’s Tour of Britain will return for its 22nd edition as the premier men’s stage race on British roads this September, with plenty of home hope chasing the green jersey.
The annual five-day road race forms part of the UCI ProSeries, the second tier of men’s road cycling, with the route wending its way between Lincoln and through to Earlston in Scotland between September 2-6.
Past winners include five-time Olympic gold medallist Bradley Wiggins, as well as the likes of Julian Alaphilippe, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel.
And with the Tour de France Grand Départ returning to Great Britain next year, riders will no doubt hope to get a feel for the unique challenge British roads present ahead of time.
What is the route?
The five stages will travel from Lincolnshire, up through Yorkshire before its final trip to Scotland on for the fifth stage, via classic seaside destinations and the bucolic surroundings of the Yorkshire Dales.
Stage one will get underway in Lincoln, with the finish coming under the watchful gaze of its imposing cathedral, while riders will be challenged by cobbled climbs famous from the Lincoln Grand Prix.
They will remain in Lincolnshire on day two, travelling down to Boston for the start before heading north via two categorised climbs and heading back round to the coastal novelty of Skegness.
Stage three moves into East Yorkshire as Hull hosts the start with the finish just north in Beverley, before stage four travels between the North York Moors and the Yorkshire Dales from Helmsley to Leyburn.
With three categorised climbs among the hills of North Yorkshire, it is stage four that will prove the testing ground for those with general classification ambitions before a loop from Earlston will see the race come to its conclusion in the Scottish Borders.
British athletes to watch
Olympic medallist Ethan Vernon and 2026 Commonwealth medallist Matt Bostock will both switch the track for the road to represent at their home tour.
Vernon, who will represent NSN Cycling Team, was part of the gold medal-winning team pursuit team at Glasgow 2026 this summer and won bronze in the scratch race, having won silver in the team pursuit for Team GB at Paris 2024.
The Olympic year was also the last time the 26-year-old raced in the Tour of Britain, where he won the points classification and will no doubt be chasing similar this time out.
Bostock won gold in the points race at the Commonwealth Games this summer and will represent the Great Britain Cycling Team (GBCT).
He will be joined in the home team by another Olympic medallist in Ollie Wood, who was also a member of the team pursuit silver medal winners at Paris 2024.
Ben Wiggins will also join GBCT, hoping to follow in the footsteps of Olympic gold medallist dad Bradley, who won the Tour of Britain in 2013.
The GBCT team also features Elliot Rowe, Jacob Bush and William Smith.
There will be British representation from World Tour team Netcompany INEOS as cousins Ben Swift and Connor Swift are expected to compete.
And Mark Donovan and Mark Stewart will both bring general classification pedigree, with the former looking to improve on his fifth overall finish in 2025.
Where does the Tour of Britain sit in the cycling calendar?
The Men’s Tour of Britain finishes two weeks before the UCI Road World Championships in Montreal, which gets underway on the 20 September.
It means some riders might view the event as a perfect warm-up to get their eye in on the road.
Despite it running concurrently with the Vuelta a España, that has not averted some of the biggest names in cycling gracing British roads either.
Last year, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe both featured on the overall podium, while Netcompany INEOS rider Filippo Ganna is set to compete this time around with Dutch rider Olav Kooij back to defend his points classification jersey.
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