A cycling race that tours Britain

If you are a fan of cycling and bicycle races in particular you may already be aware of the Tour of Britain that takes part in September every year.  This event sees a number of male riders from all over the world competing in an eight-stage event through various places in the UK. The race results are recorded after each stage until someone is crowned ultimate winner at the end. It is an incredibly popular event for people to watch as spectators and with this comes the responsibility to ensure that everyone from the riders and the members of the general public are kept safe. This is where Event Medical Cover like that that is provided by https://outdoormedicalsolutions.co.uk/event-medical-cover can help.

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Back to the race. In 2018 this began on 2nd September and ran until the final stage on the 9th September with the riders covering a total of 710 miles. The race was won by Julian Alaphilippe from France. Here is a breakdown of the stages of this very impressive race.

Stage 1 –  Newport to Pembrey across a total of 109 miles

Stage 2 – Cranbrook to Barnstaple covering 108 miles

Stage 3 – Across Bristol covering 78 miles – this is one of the hillier parts of the race.

Stage 4 – Nuneaton to Leamington Spa covering 114 miles

Stage 5 – Cockermouth to Whinlatter Pass covering 9 miles

Stage 6 – Barrow-in-Furness to Whinlatter Pass covering 105 miles – another hilly stage of the race

Stage 7 – West Bridgford to Mansfield covering 139 miles

Stage 6 – Across London covering 48 miles

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The race is similar to the concept for the Tour de France and has been incredibly popular. There are some interesting facts about this race and here are a few for you to have a look at.

  • There is evidence of a Tour of Britain style race taking place as far back as the 1940s. The route that is used today was originally begun in 2004 and was a five-stage race. In 2008 this increased to an eight-stage race as we know it now.
  • From 1958 to 1993 it was known as ‘The Milk Race’. This was due to the fact that in 1958 the Milk Marketing Board was approached by the race organisers to be sponsors. The board arranged for the phrase ‘Drink More Milk’ to be added to the tops of all the riders.
  • For a period of time from 1960 to 1984 it was a race that was only for amateur riders.