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Riders to Watch at the 2023 Tour of Britain

Mathew Mitchell

• Published on August 31, 2023
• in Men's Cycling

The anticipation for the cycling world is reaching fever pitch as the British Isles gear up for their most celebrated race, the 2023 Tour of Britain . Not only does this competition offer fierce rivalries and tactical masterclasses, but it also showcases a range of prodigious talent. As the event looms on the horizon at the end of this week, the British cycling community is abuzz with excitement. Here’s your comprehensive guide to the awe-inspiring athletes who will undoubtedly make headlines.

Table of Contents

The Classics Specialist: Wout van Aert

Wout van Aert , Belgium’s cycling luminary, is a formidable presence in the Tour of Britain lineup. Once known as just a specialist in the Spring Classics, van Aert has also demonstrated a high level of versatility with impressive finishes in both stage races and one-day competitions. His capabilities now extend beyond merely being a classics specialist; his sprinting prowess and tactical intelligence make him well-suited for the undulating and varied British roads. Wout is a previous winner here as well, taking the GC victory in 2021 along with 4 stage wins.

The Young Prodigy: Tom Pidcock

Garnering a significant amount of attention is British sensation and Alpe d’Huez winner Tom Pidcock . This young prodigy has already carved out a name for himself in multiple cycling disciplines, including mountain biking, cyclocross, and road racing. The Brit scored his first World Championship XCO title in Glasgow recently to go with his gold in the discipline at the Tokyo Olympics. Entering the Tour of Britain, Pidcock is more than a hometown favourite; he is a force to be reckoned with and a strong contender for the overall title. His tactical acumen and audacity in making breakaways and surprise attacks make him not just the future but also one of the current faces of British cycling.

The Sprint King: Sam Bennett

In the realm of sprinting, the name Sam Bennett rings loudly. This Irishman has gained a reputation as one of the fastest cyclists on the planet. Bennett will be particularly focused on the Tour of Britain’s sprint stages, aiming to add to an already illustrious list of wins. It’s been a quieter season at the top WorldTour level, with a good few near misses. The Tour of Britain is where Bennett cut his teeth around 10 years ago, taking a stage win in 2013. His blistering speed and uncanny ability to find the right wheel in the frenzied final kilometres make him a perennial favourite for any flat finish.

Last Year’s Winner: Gonzalo Serrano

The reigning champion, Gonzalo Serrano of Spain, returns to the British roads carrying the honour and the pressure of his previous victory. Winning the Tour of Britain is an achievement, but successfully defending the title is something else altogether. He’s had a quiet 2023 season so far, finishing no higher than 6th in any race all season. The spotlight will undoubtedly be on Serrano as he attempts to etch his name into the annals of the Tour of Britain yet again, underlining his formidable capabilities.

The Dark Horses: Kamiel Bonneu, Nils Politt, and Corbin Strong

Although perhaps not the headliners, Kamiel Bonneu, Nils Politt, and Corbin Strong should not be overlooked. Bonneu, best known for his stunning stage win at the 2022 Tour of Britain from a breakaway, is a rider who can make a significant impact when least expected. Politt is synonymous with aggressive, attritional racing and could emerge as a surprise decent GC package. On the other hand, Strong, the New Zealand native, has been consistently high placing, without taking a win this season. His ability on rolling courses might make him a stage winner here or a points jersey contender.

The British Hopes: Mark Donovan and Ethan Vernon

Alongside Tom Pidcock, there are other British talents to watch, notably Mark Donovan and Ethan Vernon. Donovan’s performances have been remarkably consistent across stage races, making him a reliable figure in any team. He was 9th in GC here in 2021 and might be an outside threat for the GC podium this year. Meanwhile, Vernon, winner at the World Championships on the track will be full of confidence with a subsequent stage win at the Deutschland Tour. The course this year is missing a time trial for Vernon to be a true GC threat.

Related Posts

Tour of Britain 2023: Route details, startlist and jerseys guide

The Tour of Britain 2023 begins on Sunday September 3 - here's all you need to know

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After a truncated edition in 2022 due to police having to head off to administer the Queen's funeral, Britain's biggest race - the Tour of Britain - returns for (hopefully) a full run in 2023. 

It's a much more compact edition this year with the race taking place mostly in the middle of the country so if you're anywhere south of Manchester and north of Reading you have precious few excuses for not getting to the roadside to cheer on your favourite rider.

Among the riders set to light up the race are previous winner Wout van Aert and 2022 second place finisher Tom Pidcock , who'll hope to go one better in 2023.

Tour of Britain overview

Tour of britain 2023 route.

Stage 1,   Sunday 3 September

Route: Greater Manchester to Altrincham 

Today's route is near identical to the final stage of the 2019 tour, starting in Altrincham and travelling to Manchester in an anti-clockwise direction taking in the surrounding area’s undulating terrain, including the category two climb of Grains Bar (2.4km at 5.8%) and category one Ramsbottom Rake (1.3km at 8.8%). Those climbs might not sound like much, but together with a number of unclassified rises were enough to significantly reduce the peloton to just a few dozen riders after Ineos Grenadiers applied the pressure. 

The race did eventually culminate in a reduced bunch sprint won by Mathieu van der Poel, but not before we were entertained by a relentless flurry of attacks as teams struggled for control.

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Expect a similar type of rider to triumph today.

Stage 2, Monday 4 September

Route: Wrexham to Wrexham

At just 109.9km, this is a remarkably short stage by any standards, and as a result could witness some atypical racing. Shorter stages tend to produce more intense racing, with riders able to attack earlier on in the knowledge that they won't have to sustain their efforts for as long.

So although the route doesn’t offer many springboards to launch attacks, travelling westwards across the border and into Cheshire rather than eastwards towards the hills of the Clwydian Range to the west, expect riders to try their luck regardless.

Most important of all will be the Eyton Hill, the category three climb summited with just 18.5km left to ride. It’s close enough to the finish for attackers to fully commit themselves, but will the shallow gradients (averaging only around two and three percent) be enough to establish meaningful gaps?

Stage 3, Tuesday 5 September

Route: Goole to Beverley

Setting off from the small market town of Goole, the riders will head north-eastwards to Bridlington, from where they will travel southwards along the coast and then inland again for a finish in Beverley. For the residents of Beverley, this will be a chance to witness a stage finish after the minster town had previously hosted the beginning of Tour de Yorkshire stages in 2016 and 2018, the former won by Harry Tanfield from a successful break, the latter by Dylan Groenewegen in a sprint.

Much like the course of the town’s famous racecourse, the parcours today before arriving at Beverly is mostly flat, but there are a few potential obstacles to overcome if this is to be a sprint finish. The category three hills up Towthorpe Lane and Langtoft must both be climbed during the first of the stage, and after that comes a stretch of about 35km near the coastline which could, if the wind blows strong and in the right direction, cause echelons. But this should in theory be the most nailed-on stage for the sprinters so far.

Stage 4, Wednesday 6 September

Route: Sherwood Forest to Newark-on-Trent

After setting off from Edwinstone in Sherwood Forest, famous for its association with Robin Hood, the riders face the first to the day’s two category three climbs, Kilton Hill, just 15km into the stage. Then, after briefly crossing into Yorkshire and riding through Haworth, where a monument to Tom Simpsons can be found, they will travel southwards again to tackle the next climb, Red Hill Lane.

There’s a whole 85km between the top of Red Hill Lane and the finish, so plenty of time for the race to settle down for a bunch sprint.

Stage 5, Thursday 7 September

Route: Felixstowe to Felixstowe

Perhaps to make up for the lack of any difficult terrain, the organisers have rendered stage five less straightforward than it would otherwise have been by extending it to a total of 192.4km. That makes it by far the longest stage of the race, and could prevent this from being the predictable sprint stage it looks on paper.

Small undulations in the road that would otherwise have been passed over without a second though will sting the legs of the weaker riders, and being so close to the coast a crosswind could encourage a strong team to the front on any exposed roads.

Stage 6, Friday 8 September

Route: Southend-on-Sea to Harlow

Today’s stage is likely to be the last chance for the sprinters to compete for a stage win. And it should be about as nailed-on for them as any stage in the year’s race — there is only one official climb to be overcome, and it’s only a mild category three one tackled with 46km left between its summit and the finish for the peloton to bring back any optimistic attackers who try to use its shallow gradients to get away.

Stage 7, Saturday 9 September

Route: Tewkesbury to Gloucester

The organisers have made the most of the lumpy terrain of the Cotswolds to devise a route that should be selective, and one of the most important days in the GC race.

There is one climb up the category two Winchcombe Hill just 20km after the roll-out in Tewksbury, but the real action will be reserved for the final 30km. First the category two Crawley Hill, which features a nasty ramp at over 20%, then an uncategorized yet deceptively hard 3km rise to the village of Edge, which includes a similarly sharp ramp of 15%.

Stage 8, Sunday 10 September

Route: Margam Country Park to Caerphilly

The climbs to be taken on might not be especially different than those that have preceded them earlier in the week, but there is still a notable upgrade in terms of severity.

That’s clear when the race heads up to the outskirts of Bannau Brycheiniog (formerly Brecon Beacons) national park to take on the first two climbs of the day, Rhigos and Bryn Du, which have both been designated the maximum difficulty racing of category one.

And after a 35km south-easterly trek from the top of the latter comes a double-ascent of the day’s most important climb, and the one on which the entire fate of the Tour of Britain could be decided — Caerphilly Mountain.

In truth it’s more of a hill than a mountain, lasting just 1.3km, but that’s still enough road for its viscous average gradient of 10% to really sting and force a selection.

Tour of Britain startlist

Movistar Team 

DS Max Sciandri 

1 Gonzalo Serrano ESP

2 Will Barta USA

3 Imanol Erviti ESP

4 Max Kanter GER

5 Gregor Mühlberger AUT

6 Óscar Rodríguez ESP

INEOS Grenadiers 

DS Roger Hammond / Ian Stannard 

11 Tom Pidcock GBR

12 Carlos Rodriguez ESP

13 Luke Rowe GBR

14 Connor Swift GBR

15 Josh Tarling* GBR

16 Ben Turner GBR

Bingoal WB 

DS Alessandro Spezialetti 

21 Floris de Tier BEL

22 Johan Meens BEL

23 Davide Persico* ITA

24 Dimitri Peyskens BEL

25 Lennert Teugels BEL

26 Kenneth van Rooy BEL

Great Britain  

DS John Herety / Matt Brammeier 

31 Ethan Vernon GBR

32 Jack Brough* GBR

33 Josh Giddings* GBR

34 Noah Hobbs* GBR

35 Oliver Wood GBR

36 Stephen Williams GBR

BORA hansgrohe 

DS Jens Zemke / Heinrich Haussler 

41 Sam Bennett IRL

42 Patrick Gamper AUT

43 Nils Politt GER

44 Max Schachmann GER

45 Ide Schelling NED

46 Danny Van Poppel NED

Bolton Equities Black Spoke Cycling  

DS Franky Van Haesebroucke / Greg Henderson 

51 Jacob Scott GBR

52 Matt Bostock GBR

53 James Fouche NZL

54 James Oram NZL

55 Mark Stewart GBR

56 Rory Townsend IRL

Global 6 Cycling 

DS James Mitri / Luis Gerrado 

61 Nicolas Sessler BRA

62 Giacomo Ballabio ITA

63 Tomoya Koyama JPN

64 Ivan Moreno ESP

65 Callum Ormiston RSA

66 Tom Wirtgen LUX

Jumbo Visma 

DS Arthur van Dongen / Maarten Wynants 

71 Wout van Aert BEL

72 Edoardo Affini ITA

73 Steven Kruijswijk NED

74 Olav Kooij* NED

75 Jos van Emden NED

76 Nathan van Hooydonck BEL

Equipo Kern Pharma 

DS Pablo Urtasun 

81 Roger Adrià ESP

82 Igor Arrieta* ESP

83 Iñigo Elosegui ESP

84 José Félix Parra ESP

85 Ibon Ruiz ESP

86 Danny van der Tuuk NED

Saint Piran 

DS Steve Lampier / Julian Winn 

91 Alexander Richardson GBR

92 Harry Birchill* GBR

93 Finn Crockett GBR

94 Zeb Kyffin GBR

95 Jack Rootkin-Gray* GBR

96 Bradley Symonds GBR

Team dsm - firmenich 

DS Matt Winston 

101 Tobias Lund Arnesen DEN

102 Patrick Eddy* AUS

103 Enzo Leijnse* NED

104 Niklas Märkl GER

105 Tim Naberman NED

106 Casper van Uden* NED

Q36.5 Pro Cycling 

DS Aart Vierhouten / Rik Reinerink 

111 Mark Donovan GBR

112 Damian Howson AUS

113 Kamil Malecki POL

114 Nicolò Parisini ITA

115 Joey Rosskopf USA

116 Szymon Sajnok POL

TDT - Unibet 

DS Rob Harmeling / Julia Soek 

121 Harry Tanfield GBR

122 Joren Bloem NED

123 Davide Bomboi BEL

124 Jordy Bouts BEL

125 Abram Stockman BEL

126 Hartthijs de Vries NED

Team Flanders - Baloise 

DS Hans De Clerq / Andy Missotten 

131 Kamiel Bonneu BEL

132 Sander De Pestel BEL

133 Milan Fretin* BEL

134 Elias Maris BEL

135 Ward Vanhoof BEL

136 Aaron Verwilst BEL

Trinity Racing 

DS Peter Kennaugh / Jon Mould 

141 Luke Lamperti* USA

142 Robert Donaldson* GBR

143 Luksas Nerukar* GBR

144 Finlay Pickering* GBR

145 Ollie Reese* GBR

146 Max Walker* GBR

Uno-X Pro Cycling 

DS Gino van Oudenhove / Arne Gunnar Ensrud 

151 Alexander Kristoff NOR

152 Frederik Dversnes NOR

153 Tord Gudmestad* NOR

154 Tobias Halland Johannssen NOR

155 Ramus Tiller NOR

156 Martin Urianstad NOR

* Denotes eligibility for the young rider jersey as under-23 

TOUR of Britain PAST WINNERS IN THE LAST 10 YEARS

2012: Nathan Haas (Aus)

2013: Bradley Wiggins (GBr)

2014: Dylan van Baarle (Ned)

2015: Edvald Boasson Hgen (Nor)

2016: Steve cummings (GBr)

2017: Lars Boom (Ned)

2018: Julian Alaphilippe (Fra)

2019: Mathieu van der Poel (Ned)

2020: No race

2021: Wout van Aert (Bel)

2022: Gonzalo Serrano (Esp)

Tour of Britain jersey guide

Blue: GC leader jersey

The best overall rider in the race calculated by the cumulative time they take on each stage.

Green: cottages.com sprints jersey

The first 10 riders each day get points as follows: 25, 18, 12, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Intermediate sprint points are awarded to the first five riders on a 10, 7, 5, 3 ,1 basis.

Black: Pinarello KOM jersey

First-category climbs give the first 10 riders points in descending order from 10. Second-cat climbs work the same for the first six riders, the first getting six points, while third-cat climbs see the first rider get four points.

White: young rider's jersey

Awarded to the best placed GC rider who is also under-23.

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Stephen Puddicombe is a freelance journalist for Cycling Weekly , who regularly contributes to our World Tour racing coverage with race reports, news stories, interviews and features. Outside of cycling, he also enjoys writing about film and TV - but you won't find much of that content embedded into his CW articles. 

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2022 Tour of Britain route: full details and analysis

A stage-by-stage breakdown with insight from route director Andy Hawes

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

John Whitney

The bookends of the 2022 Tour of Britain are almost a reversal of last year, with a start in Aberdeen and a finish in southern England, this time via a first visit to the Isle of Wight.

It’s an unpredictable route, with few stages you could guarantee will be won by any one type of rider.

Route director Andy Hawes says the 2022 Tour of Britain teams will have to keep a close eye on the road book and use all the tools at their disposal to solve the questions each stage will pose.

Highlights include an opening-stage summit finish at the Glenshee Ski Centre, deep in the wonderful Cairngorms, and a roving route around the Isle of Wight that covers every corner of the island.

Tour of Britain – stage guide

• Stage 1: Aberdeen – Glenshee Ski Centre
• Stage 2: Hawick – Duns
• Stage 3: Durham – Sunderland
• Stage 4: Redcar – Helmsley
• Stage 5: West Bridgford – Mansfield
• Stage 6: Tewkesbury – Gloucester
• Stage 7: West Bay – Ferndown
• Stage 8: Ryde – The Needles

Aberdeen – Glenshee Ski Centre

• When: Sunday 4 September
• Distance: 180.8km
• Total elevation: 2,512m
• Skoda KOMs: Bennachie Forest (Cat 3); My Lord’s Throat (Cat 3); Suie Road (Cat 2); Glenshee Ski Centre (Cat 1)
• Eisberg Sprints: Inverurie; Alford; Ballater

The 2022 Tour of Britain opens in Aberdeen, in exactly the same spot as Wout van Aert clinched last year’s victory in a gripping finale with home favourite Ethan Hayter.

The riders will start in Union Street, though racing will be neutralised until they cross last year’s finish line.

It’s the modern Tour of Britain’s second visit to Aberdeenshire and, after the start, the roads will be different from last year. “It’s always nice to not tread the same path,” says route director Andy Hawes.

The route heads west, towards the Cairngorms National Park, via popular local climbs My Lord’s Throat and Suie Road. It’s up and down all day, but trending up as the peloton makes its way into the Cairngorms.

The stage finishes at the Glenshee ski station at 650m, a rare summit finish on the first day of a week-long stage race. It’s only the final 3km where it begins to bite and Hawes reckons it’s a “big ring climb”.

“In the past I’d have been worried that a summit finish on stage 1 would have a detrimental effect on the rest of the race, and the last thing we want is someone gaining four minutes and the GC be done.”

He can’t see it playing out like that, and even if there was a big gap on the line, there are many obstacles for the leader to jump before the Isle of Wight finish. “It’s a gorgeous climb,” adds Hawes.

“I’m in two minds about what I want the weather to be. I’ve seen it in glorious sunshine, and on darker days like you would expect, and they’re both amazing. It’s so atmospheric, whatever the weather.”

Hawick – Duns

• When: Monday 5 September
• Distance: 174.8km
• Total elevation: 2,547m
• Skoda KOMs: Wanside Rig (Cat 3); Mainslaughter Law (Cat 3); Hardens Hill (Cat 3)
• Eisberg Sprints: Morebattle; Coldstream; Reston

As with last year’s race, this is another hilly week, packed to the gills with climbing.

The previous day’s 2,500 metres of elevation are followed by the same again today and only stage five drops under 2,000m.

We’re again in Scottish Borders territory, but despite the frequency of visits here, Hawes says they’ve found roads, towns and villages they’ve not been to before.

Hawick also hosted the start of stage 7 in 2021, a lumpy stage to Edinburgh won by Yves Lampaert.

The race doesn’t get as far north on this stage, heading out to the east coast town of Eyemouth, before turning around for the Lammermuir Hills, a natural separation between the Borders and East Lothian.

While it will have been hilly up to this point, all three of this day's King of the Mountains sections fall within the final 20km, three 3rd category climbs – Wanside Rig, Mainslaughter Law and Hardens Hill – and taking the peloton close to 450m elevation.

Rather than another summit finish, the peloton must negotiate a fast and open descent, one that, for the best descenders, will tempt them into stern attacks as they head towards the final summit.

“The last 5km is off the side of a mountain down into the finish in Duns,” says Hawes.

“Anybody who gets away on that final KOM could easily come across the line on their own. I can’t see it finishing in a bunch sprint.”

Durham – Sunderland

• When: Tuesday 6 September
• Distance: 163.3km
• Total elevation: 2,518m
• Skoda KOMs: Chapel Fell (Cat 1); Billy Lane (Cat 2); High Moorsley (Cat 3)
• Eisberg Sprints: Stanhope; Bishop Auckland; Ferryhill

County Durham’s Chapel Fell makes an appearance on day three.

At 627m high, it would be the ceiling of many Tours of Britain, but for the earlier visit to the Cairngorms.

The climb begins in the village of St John’s Chapel, averaging 8.3 per cent over almost 4km.

“The riders who are hanging on in there are going to hate it, as you can see the top from a long way off, it’s very open,” says Hawes.

From there, the stage is up and down, with two more KOMs at 98 and 148km, though nothing on the scale of Chapel Fell.

Around the mid-point, the race speeds through Barnard Castle, which will serve as a step in restoring its image as a County Durham market town, rather than the scene for the scandal involving Dominic Cummings, the former advisor of the soon-to-be-former PM.

The day ends in Sunderland, hosting the race for the first time, with a finish in Keel Square. “The city has been very supportive,” says Hawes.

“They’ve hosted a couple of rounds of the Tour Series. Once places host that, everyone gets excited and wonders what comes next. Often, that’s the Tour of Britain, or the Women’s Tour, which they’re in negotiations to host.

Here, we have an opportunity for a bunch sprint, with the hard part earlier in the stage. The break could go and hoover up a lot of the points in the KOM and sprint competitions.”

Redcar – Duncombe Park, Helmsley

• When: Wednesday 7 September
• Distance: 149.5km
• Total elevation: 2,669m
• Skoda KOMs: Robin Hood’s Bay (Cat 1); Egton Bank (Cat 2); Carlton Bank (Cat 1)
• Eisberg Sprints: Whitby; Stokesley; Newgate Bank

Just 40 miles separate the previous night’s finish and the start in Redcar, for what is the toughest stage on paper – the shortest, but with the most climbing (2,669m).

The route heads south down the coast to Whitby, before turning inland to traverse the North York Moors National Park. It’s set to be a great-looking stage, too.

“I’ve driven the length and breadth of this country in this job over the years,” Hawes says, “and I don’t get too many ‘wow’ moments anymore, where you drive round a corner and the view opens up in a grand way. This year, I had it a couple of times on stage four. It’s stunning. If they’re not going up, they’re going down, the only flat part is the neutralised section.”

The toughest climb, says Hawes, is the final KOM, the Category 1 Carlton Bank, around 26km from the finish. The Newgate Bank climb gets a sprint classification, with another downhill finish into Helmsley, similar to the one into Duns on stage two.

Day four marks the long-awaited return to Yorkshire. Since the ASO-backed Tour de Yorkshire launched in 2015, the Tour of Britain has been locked out of the county, but when the race folded, its doors opened once more.

“Redcar was due to be a finish in the 2020 Tour de Yorkshire and they were gutted when it didn’t happen,” says Hawes.

“Then there was the race’s sad demise after that, and we approached them to see if they wanted to host a start and they said absolutely.”

West Bridgford – Mansfield

• When: Thursday 8 September
• Distance: 187km
• Total elevation: 1,691m
• Skoda KOMs: Keyworth (Cat 3); Sparken Hill (Cat 3)
• Eisberg Sprints: Edingley; Retford; Clumber Park

With four chunky stages through mountain ranges of northern Scotland and England, it seems fair to the riders that they get a stage offering something close to a respite.

It’s hardly flat, though – it almost never is in the Tour of Britain – but with 1,691 metres elevation over the longest stage, the peloton can take stock at the start of the second half of the race and plot to make their move – or stay one step ahead.

There was a stage between these two towns in the 2018 race, won in swaggering fashion by Team Sky’s Brit Ian Stannard, a moment of glory at the back end of a career largely in service of others.

The Essex rider retired in 2020, but will be back at the race as a directeur sportif with British development outfit Trinity Racing.

This time, as is his wont, Hawes has plotted an entirely new route. “It’s one of the easier stages, and they’re needed between the harder days.

"We go through village after village, and towns like Retford and Worksop later in the stage, before the super-fast finish in Mansfield.

“This one on paper has bunch sprint written all over it. Every time we come to Nottinghamshire, it’s tough to find genuine KOMs. We’ve got two, rather than three. One early on and one later.

“It’s a typical Nottinghamshire stage. Towns, villages, forests, open country. It’s good, it gives the peloton a chance to decompress a little after four really tough stages. Usually, I would normally like three hard stages then an easier one, but it’s a day later because of the way we’ve moved down the country. The finish is super-wide, if slightly uphill.”

Tewkesbury – Gloucester

• When: Friday 9 September
• Distance: 165.1km
• Total elevation: 2,158m
• Skoda KOMs: Round Hill (Cat 2); Withington Hill (Cat 3); Crowley Hill (Cat 2)
• Eisberg Sprints: Cirencester; Rangeworthy; Dursley

Gloucestershire is a frequent host of the Tour of Britain, but stage 6 marks the first time it has hosted a full stage entirely within its borders.

The start and finish are separated by a little over 10 miles, so fans can easily visit both should they want to.

There are KOM points up for grabs early in the stage, with Round Hill and Withington Hill falling within the first 50 kilometres.

“Depending on the battle for the KOM jersey, I don’t think the peloton will want a break going too early on in this one,” says Hawes.

The race heads south through the Cotswolds, skirting round Cheltenham clockwise, heading through Cirencester, Tetbury and getting as far south as Chipping Sodbury and Yate, just north of Bristol.

They then turn the ship around and head north towards Gloucester. There are climbs throughout this stage, but given we’re spending so much time in the Cotswolds on day six, the peloton gets a lucky break because it could be far hillier. Two sprints fall within the final 50km.

There remains a sting in the tail, though, with an uncategorised climb just 10km from the finish.

“This year more than any it’s important for teams to study the road book and Veloviewer [road mapping software that many teams use before and during stages in their team cars] and plan what they’re going to do,” says Hawes.

“I think that every stage has something in the dying kilometres that, if they’re not paying close attention, then it could catch them out. I don’t think any one stage this week is going to be written down as being for one type of stage or another, or for one type of rider or another.”

West Bay – Ferndown

• When: Saturday 10 September
• Distance: 175.9km
• Total elevation: 2,377m
• Skoda KOMs: Daggers Gate (Cat 3); Whiteways Hill (Cat 2); Okeford Hill (Cat 2)
• Eisberg Sprints: Dorchester; Wareham; Knowlton

Stage 7 should prove a treat for riders and spectators alike. Remarkably, it’s the first time that the modern Tour of Britain (since 2004) has visited Dorset, and Hawes has served up a barnstormer of a route that showcases the county’s wonderful scenery and stiff climbs.

From West Bay, known for its striking golden cliffs, the route runs parallel to the coast down to Weymouth, turning inland through Dorchester and to Hawes’ favourite part of the stage into West Lulworth, close to Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door, and into the Isle of Purbeck peninsula and the majestic Corfe Castle.

It’s a tour of some of the coast’s highlights as much as it is a bike race and it’ll be worth tuning in for the helicopter shots of the scenery, as well as the racing.

The route heads inland towards Wareham, Milton Abbas and Wimborne Minster before looping round Ferndown’s town centre for the finish.

“If I was a betting man I’d predict a bunch sprint, the road lends itself to it,” says Hawes. Whatever happens on the road, this is Dorset at its most iconic.

Ryde – The Needles

• When: Sunday 11 September
• Distance: 148.7km
• Total elevation: 2,131m
• Skoda KOMs: Brading Down (Cat 1); Cowleaze Hill (Cat 2); Zig Zag Road/Ventnor (Cat 1); Tennyson Down (Cat 2)
• Eisberg Sprints: Sandown; Yarmouth; Cowes

For the first time, the Tour of Britain arrives on the Isle of Wight . Such are the logistics of getting to the island that the race could only ever start or finish there and, with sporting terrain and wonderful scenery, it’ll be a fitting finale for any bike race.

The island’s size necessitates a route that seems to cover just about every strip of tarmac on the island.

“Yes, we’re pretty much covering the Isle of Wight, that’s definitely ticked off,” says Hawes.

“It’s going to give riders and fans a full flavour of what the island is about.”

Because of how the route traverses the island, fans will be able to catch the race in multiple locations across the day.

“The route crosses over itself but you never get the feeling that you’re close to where you’ve been before. It’s different around every corner," adds Hawes.

“It’s up and down all day. The helicopter camera is going to be busy, there’ll be some classic shots to be had. It’s a fitting final stage. The military road [which runs down the island’s south west] is four metres from the edge of the cliff in places, and it might not be there for much longer with all the erosion.”

The race ends with a 2km climb up to Tennyson Down, the final 400m averaging 9.6 per cent – the toughest finish to a Tour of Britain, organisers reckon.

“I said before last year’s race, don’t be surprised if the jersey changes hands on the final stage, and there it was, with Ethan Hayter losing it on the line to Wout van Aert. Am I going to be as bold this year?

"I don’t know, but I think there will be many wearers of the jersey. Positioning on this final climb will be key if there’s all to play for.”

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Wout van Aert times run to perfection to claim Tour of Britain’s opening stage

• Jumbo-Visma leader sees off Julian Alaphilippe in uphill sprint
• Nils Eekhoff of Team DSM takes second place in Cornwall

Bodmin, Paris and Tokyo have shared at least one experience this summer: the Wout van Aert juggernaut has rolled into town and made a lasting impression. Six weeks after taking the Olympic silver medal in the Olympic road race in Tokyo, and seven after taking the final stage of the Tour de France on the Champs-Élysées, the Belgian national champion made straightforward work of winning stage one of the Tour of Britain to take the initial race lead. His post-Olympic break has clearly not affected his appetite or dulled his finishing speed.

Van Aert’s last five races have produced three wins – he also took the Tour’s penultimate stage, a time trial – that Olympic medal, and sixth place in the Olympic time trial. He currently sits on nine victories for the year, but few would bet against him adding at least one or two more before the British Tour hits Aberdeen next Sunday. And with a fair wind, he will start as favourite to win the world championship in his native Belgium towards the end of the month.

With one of the strongest teams in the race to back him, victory in Cornwall sets up the Jumbo-Visma leader perfectly for an attempt to emulate his rival on the cyclo-cross circuit, Mathieu van der Poel, the winner of the last, pre-pandemic Tour of Britain in 2019. In Bodmin, Van Aert said that Jumbo-Visma would target Tuesday’s team time trial in South Wales, after which comes the toughest climbing stage of the race to the Great Orme. “It’s super hard at the finish, so we will definitely focus on that and see what the position is afterwards.”

After a day spent travelling through Poldark country tailing a five-rider escape including the Britons Jake Scott, Oliver Stockwell and Max Walker, plus the US champion Joey Rosskopf and South Africa’s Nic Dlamini, the peloton sprang into life on the hilly run-in to the finish. The break were swept up 13 kilometres out – not helped by a late puncture to Rosskopf – and as the jostling for position began, Mark Cavendish played a prominent role as the Deceuninck-Quickstep team attempted to set up the world champion Julian Alaphilippe for the stage win.

The rollercoaster run-in was not for the fainthearted, a dizzying blur of high-speed descents and strength-sapping drags, on which the WorldTour teams – Movistar, Deceuninck-Quickstep, Jumbo-Visma and Israel Start-Up Nation – all came to the fore. A sweeping right-hand curve saw a pile-up at the back of the string, after which the drag up into town whittled the peloton down still further, with only 36 riders finishing within 20sec of Van Aert.

Cavendish peeled off the front of the bunch at 2.8km to go, after which a searing pace was set by Ineos, in the service of their 22-year-old Ethan Hayter, who eventually finished fourth. On the final pull up to the line, Alaphilippe channelled the quixotic but not always successful Ross Poldark, while Van Aert was briskly businesslike in the manner of Ross’s nemesis George Warleggan.

Alaphilippe made a characteristic attack, springing off the wheel of one of his predecessors as world champion, Michal Kwiatkowski, to gain an initial advantage. But 200m from the line, the Frenchman looked round to see Van Aert looming close behind. Alaphilippe had made the classic error of moving too early in an uphill finish and faded to eighth place, while Van Aert timed his run to perfection to take victory from Nils Eekhoff of the German Team DSM. Close behind was another possible contender for the overall win, the Canadian Michael “Rusty” Woods of Israel Start-Up Nation, who will relish the climbs that pepper the route on Monday and Wednesday.

On Monday, the race crosses Dartmoor via Princetown before a finish on Queen Street in Exeter, which looks far more suitable for Cavendish, featuring a technical section through narrow lanes followed by a slight drag in the final kilometre. There is just one issue, however: a finish of this kind also has Van Aert written all over it, given he had the gas to win on the Champs-Élysées; Eekhoff and the Italian Giacomo Nizzolo will also have their eyes on this one, as will Hayter.

• Tour of Britain

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9 Stops on a Literary Tour of England and Scotland

Ferne Arfin

Plan a literary tour of Britain to visit the places that shaped your favorite authors' lives and inspired their stories. It's a great way to focus your UK trip and get off the usual tourist treadmill.

William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, JK Rowling, Jane Austen, and hundreds of others are part of the collective culture of the English speaking world. Their stories, in all sorts of formats - books, films, television series and even ebooks - entertain generation after generation. And seeing their birthplaces, schools, writing rooms, and final homes is always fascinating.

Most of the writers on this list have stood the test of time. Their work has been interpreted and reinterpreted in films, television, even radio, over and over. We read them in school because we had to and, later, enjoyed them simply because we wanted to.

To help you plan a tour that takes in at least some of your favorites, follow the links to learn more about each location or check this map of literary landmarks, for more stops on the literary trail.

JK Rowling and Harry Potter in Edinburgh

A sign in the window of the Elephant House  on George IV Bridge in Edinburgh proclaims it is Harry Potter's Birthplace. And it's true. It was in a back room here, with windows overlooking the city, that author JK Rowling spent fateful hours completing Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ( called the Sorceror's Stone in the USA )  the first book in the series. It's still a cafe and you can still drop in for a cappuccino and a sandwich, a pizza or a plate of sausage and mash. But better not be in a hurry as you can expect to wait in a medium sized queue of fans. 

By the time she was writing the last book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows , Rowling had moved on to the finer things in life. She booked one of the Grand Suites in Edinburgh's tony Balmoral Hotel . The JK Rowling Suite, now named for her, has her writing desk and a marble bust of Hermes signed by her. The doorknocker is a brass owl, in her honor. If you want to splash out, you can book it - but there's probably a waiting list.

Agatha Christie

The UK's "Queen of Crime", Agatha Christie, was born in Torquay on the English Riviera. Every year the resort celebrates the creator of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple with a festival that features talks, walks, banquets, vintage dressing up and plays by the local theatrical society.

Christie was married to archaeologist Max Mallowan and during much of her married ​life she accompanied him on archaeological digs while writing her very English novels in the Middle East. From 1938 until her death in 1976, she spent most summers completing and editing her books at Greenway, her summer home overlooking the River Dart, just outside Torquay.

The house is now owned by the National Trust. When you visit, you can immerse yourself in the Christie mystique by exploring her collections and her lovely gardens, dining in her kitchen and even staying in a self-catering apartment at the top of the house .

Charles Dickens

Born in Portsmouth, where his father was a Naval Clerk, Dickens spent part of his childhood living near the Chatham Dockyards in Kent. Though he lived and wrote for part of his life in London, Kent is the county most associated with the author of A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, Nicholas Nickleby, Bleak House, David Copperfield, Dombey and Son, Little Dorrit and dozens of other familiar stories. He spent many holidays in Broadstairs, still a pleasant town on the Kent seaside where the house that inspired Bleak House is now a B&B. He lived the last 14 years of his life at Gads Hill Place in Gravesend, now a private school that can be visited in groups, by arrangement.

• Dickens Birthplace Museum - A modest Portsmouth house not far from the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
• Chatham Historic Dockyard offers a glimpse of the world in which Dickens grew up.
• Rochester Walk in Dickens' Footsteps - a worthwhile day trip with dozens of locations for Dicken's later works.
• The Charles Dickens Museum The author's only surviving London home where he lived for two years while writing Nicholas Nickleby and Oliver Twist. Reopened in late 2012 after extensive renovations.
• Broadstairs in Kent was a favorite for summer holidays. Dickens wrote David Copperfield in the house that modeled for Bleak House , now a luxury B&B. Broadstairs has a Dickens Festival every June.
• Gads Hill Place Group visits to Dickens' final home can be arranged through Towncentric, Gravesend Visitor Centre, on +44 (0)1474 337600, [email protected].

Jane Austen

Though the Georgian city of Bath, with its Roman Baths and UNESCO World Heritage status, proudly claims Jane Austen as a favorite resident, Jane was actually unhappy there. One of the most widely read authors in the English language, she produced virtually nothing while in Bath and, perhaps as a possible means of escape, accepted a marriage proposal - though she rejected it less than 24 hours later.

Jane, her sister Cassandra and her mother, were happier in Chawton Cottage, a large cottage on the edge of her brother's Hampshire estate. She moved in in 1809 and published four of her most famous novels while living there - Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Emma. Persuasion and Northanger Abbey were also written while she lived there but published posthumously.

Chawton Cottage, now known as Jane Austen's House Museum , about an hour and a half south of London, is open to the public.

• Find out more about Bath a city Austen may not have liked but observed sharply in many of her novels.
• Visit the Jane Austen Centre in Bath
• Visit Jane Austen's House Museum , where the author reviewed her first copies of Pride and Prejudice about 200 years ago.

Famous Oxford Literary Figures

Oxford has produced famous high achievers in virtually every walk of life. Quite a few household names of English literature were Oxford students and academics. JRR Tolkien spent most of his adult life there - first as a professor of Anglo Saxon at Pembroke College and later as a professor of English Literature at Merton College. He wrote The Hobbit while at Pembroke.

C.S.Lewis, who spent time with Tolkien in The Inklings, an Oxford writers' group, also had a strong attachment to Oxford. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English at Magdalen College, Oxford for 29 years and though he moved to Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1954, he maintained a house in Oxford all his life.

Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll), Oscar Wilde, Matthew Arnold, W.H. Auden, John Fowles (author of The French Lieutenants Woman and The Magus ), William Golding (author of Lord of the Flies ), and many more studied, taught or lived in Oxford.

More recently, Helen Fielding, author of Bridget Jones Diary graduated from St Anne's College Oxford.

Pick up the literary vibe in one of Oxford's literary pubs:

• The Eagle and Child on St. Giles, called by Tolkien and others "The Bird and Baby," was the meeting place of "The Inklings", the literary discussion group favored by Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.
• The Lamb & Flag the inn across the road, dates from 1695 and counted Graham Green as a regular.

William Shakespeare

The most famous writer in the English language - arguably the most famous writer in the world - is better known through his works than through his biographical details. Just about every aspect of his life, from his marriage to Anne Hathaway to the recipient of his sonnets to the actual authorship of his plays is open to discussion and subject to lively debate.

Fans in search of the Bard can visit his hometown, Stratford-upon-Avon, to explore:

• his birthplace
• his daughter's home, Hall's Croft
• his mother's place Mary Arden's House in nearby Wilmcote
• and Anne Hathaway's Cottage . Shakespeare's wife's house is probably the most famous thatched cottage in the world.
• Then see a play or two at The Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

Daphne Du Maurier

Daphne Du Maurier was once the queen of atmospheric thrillers. Alfred Hitchcock turned to her again and again for inspiration, creating films of her novels Rebecca ("Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again") and Jamaica Inn as well as her short story The Birds . Nicholas Roeg created one of the steamiest sex scene in mainstream cinema in the 1970s film version of her story Don't Look Now , with Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie.

Fowey, in Cornwall, and the real Jamaica Inn , on Bodmin Moor, shaped her fantastic and dark imagination. Nowadays, the film versions of her work are more famous than she is. In a sad commentary on the fleeting nature of fame, Fowey, the town where she lived and wrote for 30 years has recently changed the name of its Daphne du Maurier Festival to the Fowey Festival of Words and Music.

William Wordsworth

If, like the 19th-century Romantic poet William Wordsworth, the sight of a field of golden daffodils has ever cheered your lonely hours, you'll want to visit Dove Cottage in Grasmere. Wordsworth lived there for eight years with his wife Mary and sister Dorothy. It was on a walk with Dorothy in the Lake District countryside nearby that he spotted the famous field of nodding flowers that inspired his poem, Lonely as a Cloud, known by most people simply as The Daffodils . While at Dove Cottage, Wordsworth was visited by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and other figures in the 19th-century Romantic movement. The modest cottage, now owned by the Wordsworth Trust, is open to the public on guided tours. It is part of a complex that includes a museum and a research center containing the poet's archives.

The Brontës

The Brontë sisters - Charlotte ( Jane Eyre ), Emily ( Wuthering Heights ) and Anne ( The Tenant of Wildfell Hall ) - their dissolute brother Branwell and their father, Anglo-Irish clergyman, Patrick, all lived and wrote in the Parsonage of the Yorkshire West Ridings village of Haworth.

The house, now open to the public as a museum, gives a sense of the claustrophobic and reclusive atmosphere the Brontës inhabited. No wonder their only escape was through the overwrought romanticism of their fevered imaginations.

Explore the nearby moors, windswept and lonely, to find Top Withins, said to be the inspiration for Heathcliffe's home, Wuthering Heights, and other landmarks from Emily Brontë's novel.

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Tour of Britain

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Race information

• Date: 12 September 2021
• Start time: 11:45 (12:45 CET)
• Avg. speed winner: 41.866 km/h
• Race category: ME - Men Elite
• Distance: 173 km
• Points scale: 2.PRO.Stage
• UCI scale: UCI.WR.HC.Stage - TM2022
• Parcours type:
• ProfileScore: 40
• Vert. meters: 1920
• Departure: Stonehaven
• Arrival: Aberdeen
• Race ranking: 42
• Startlist quality score: 435
• Won how: Sprint of large group
• Avg. temperature:

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Tour of Britain in Essex: Timings and route of the sixth stage

• Published 8 September 2023

The cycling world focuses on Essex later as it hosts the sixth stage of the Tour of Britain, with the men's elite cycle race starting in Southend and finishing in Harlow.

What is the Tour of Britain?

The event is the UK's biggest professional cycle race.

With a worldwide television audience of more than 30 million and an anticipated 1.4 million roadside spectators, the race is Britain's largest free-to-attend sporting event. It is credited with contributing £19m to the UK economy, organisers say.

It started in Greater Manchester on Sunday. It finishes next Sunday in south Wales. Stages are being held in Wrexham, Nottinghamshire and East Yorkshire. Dutchman Olav Kooij is the clear front-runner.

Van Aert takes stage five victory with late attack

• The Tour of Britain arrives in Suffolk
• Kooij wins stage four to equal Tour of Britain record

It is the first time Southend has welcomed the modern tour.

The city has a long association with the sport. It hosted stages of the Milk Race in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

The event's visit to the resort comes as Southend Wheelers, a popular local club, celebrates its 100th birthday.

What are the timings?

Friday's Essex stage will set off from Western Esplanade on Southend seafront at 11:45 BST.

The first finishers are expected to reach Harlow at about 15:07.

What is the route?

The Essex stage will cover nearly 91 miles (146km).

After rolling out from Southend, the riders will loop around Rochford, South Woodham Ferrers and Burnham-on-Crouch.

The course then heads west to Harlow, initially running parallel to the River Blackwater, and then through Ingatestone.

Organisers have released approximate timings for locations along the stage, which include:

• Southend - Western Esplanade (11:45)
• Rochford (12:09)
• South Woodham Ferrers (12:49)
• Burnham-on-Crouch (13:12)
• Southminster (13:17)
• Bradwell-on-Sea (13:31)
• Stock (14:25)
• Ingatestone (14:34)
• Blackmore (14:43)
• North Weald Bassett (15:06)
• Harlow - Third Avenue (15:28)

Full route details and timings are available here .

Which riders should I look out for?

Spain's Gonzalo Serrano is the defending champion, racing for Movistar Team. Belgium's Jumbo-Visma rider Wout van Aert, won in 2021, and finished second in Sunday's stage in Manchester. Dutchman Olav Kooij, 21, who also rides for Jumbo-Visma, won the first four stages of the 2023 race, equalling a Tour of Britain record.

Britain's Tom Pidcock, who rode this year's Tour de France, will also take part for Ineos Grenadiers.

Among 24 other British riders are Jacob Scott (Bolton Equities Black Spoke), newly-crowned track world champion Ethan Vernon (Great Britain), and Tour de Yorkshire stage winner Harry Tanfield (TDT - Unibet Cycling Team).

A full list of entrants is available here.

How will it affect the roads?

Since 21 August, parking suspension signs have been positioned in areas where on-street restrictions will apply for the event.

The race operates with rolling road closures for about 15 minutes prior to the estimated time of arrival until approximately 10 minutes after the last rider has passed.

More details on road closures are available here.

Where does the Tour go next?

After Essex, the Tour moves to Gloucestershire for stage seven, which covers 106 miles (170km) from Gloucester to Tewkesbury.

How can I watch?

The race is held on public roads, meaning there are plenty of places to see the action.

Some of the best views will be on long, straight sections as they allow spectators to see riders approaching.

Organisers say the first 40 miles (65km) of the race around Rochford, South Woodham Ferrers, and Burnham-on-Crouch, may give fans a chance to see the peloton at multiple locations.

Anyone wanting to watch at the roadside is asked to avoid parking on the race route, in laybys or on road verges in order to avoid getting in the way of the peloton.

Follow East of England news on Facebook , Instagram and Twitter . Got a story? Email [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830

Related Topics

• North Weald
• Bradwell on Sea
• Southend-on-Sea
• Burnham on Crouch
• Southminster
• Ingatestone

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• Published 7 September 2023

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• Vuelta Femenina

Tour of Britain Women route revealed, with curtailed 2024 edition set to expand in coming years

Event confirmed to return in 2024 in shortened four-day format from Wales to Greater Manchester

Flo Clifford

Freelance writer.

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The podium of the last Women's Tour in 2022

British Cycling has revealed the route for this summer’s Tour of Britain Women , the revamped version of the flagship British race the Women’s Tour, which will start in north Wales and finish in Greater Manchester.

Starting in Welshpool on Thursday 6 June, the Women’s WorldTour -level stage race, which fills the same calendar slot as the old Women’s Tour, has been shortened from six to four stages this year due to the last-minute nature of British Cycling’s takeover .

The race did not run in 2023 due to financial difficulties and its former promoter Sweetspot liquidated in January, at which point British Cycling stepped in. They announced their intentions to put together a women’s race for June, admitting it would be a battle against time, but it appears they’ve won that battle with details of the race now coming together.

Read more: Four-day Tour of Britain Women appears on UCI calendar for 2024

The national governing body will also manage the equivalent men’s race, now known as the Tour of Britain Men , which will take place in September, also shortened from eight to six stages.

The Tour of Britain Women route

Returning to where the Women’s Tour left off in 2022, the peloton will take to the start line in Welshpool on 6 June for the longest stage of 2024, heading north to finish in Llandudno.

Stage 2 will remain in Wales, starting and finishing in Wrexham and featuring a challenging selection of climbs in the rolling terrain of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley.

The penultimate stage will see the riders cross the border into England for a loop starting and finishing in Warrington, on a flatter day which will favour the sprinters.

The climbs return on the race’s final day, returning to Greater Manchester following the success of the men’s Tour of Britain stage there last summer. The flag will drop at British Cycling’s headquarters at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester before tackling several climbs around the north-west, finishing in Leigh in Wigan.

Speaking at the National Cycling Centre on Monday, race director Rod Ellingworth said: “It’s going to be a challenging course. Stage 1 is going to be the most challenging stage for sure, [followed by] stage 4. I think the GC will come down to the final stage. Weather will play a huge part – if it’s okay weather on stage 1, I think you’ll have a different race come stage 4 – but I think it’s pretty open.

Read more: Rod Ellingworth named as Tour of Britain race director

“Naturally the British roads offer lots of different opportunities – you don’t have the big mountains but there’s certainly some challenging roads, and you don’t need big climbs to make good bike racing either. Where we are in the timescale, I think we’ve got a really good four-day race.”

With all the racing compacted into north Wales and the north-west of England, there will be no long transfers between stages, with sustainability an important consideration for the organisers.

Specific route profiles and more details on the crucial climbs are to be announced in the coming weeks.

British hopeful and former world road race champion Lizzie Deignan , who will be racing as part of a Team GB squad rather than her WorldTour team Lidl-Trek, said: “I’m excited particularly about the harder races around Manchester, the hillier stuff, I think that’ll suit me and I’m excited to be able to race it with the GB team.

“Racing in Britain has always suited me because you have the home crowd, but also the terrain – wherever you are in the country – is relentless. People in the UK are brilliant sports fans and there’s this sense of excitement and thrill at being able to be part of a spectacle like a bike race.”

Designing the race

British Cycling’s chief executive Jon Dutton described this as a ‘reset and re-energise year’ for the race, particularly on the women’s side given the extremely compressed timescale for organising it. Having planned the route in ten weeks, he said: “It’s fair to say none of this has been easy but we believed in this race, these two races.

“I think we’ve got a bit of everything in the four stages, from the climbing to the flat, to sprinting. For the Tour of Britain Men, we’ve announced that we will reduce from eight to six stages, and less might be more – more high quality, compelling racing for those watching from the roadside and on broadcast. We want to stage racing in Wales, England and Scotland and we will satisfy that across the two races this year.”

The races will be funded by a mixture of public funding, broadcast revenue and sponsorships. Dutton said: “We accept that maybe in year one the race has to run at a deficit, but this is about taking a longer-term approach to it. We’re in the process of finalising [broadcast] contracts both domestically and internationally so we’re in a good place.

“We’re excited, we got what we realistically could have expected this year in four and six stages, but again that’s the reset year.

“These two races are the jewel in the crown for domestic, elite international road racing here in Great Britain. If you look at both women and men on the WorldTour, it’s quite astonishing from a GB perspective, and we want to make sure they have the opportunity to ride here on our roads. We’ve invited and all six British UCI Continental teams have accepted, and we also have a very strong GB women’s team that will race, so it will be a real celebration of British women’s international elite road racing.”

It is not yet clear which Women’s WorldTour teams will be in attendance, with participation not mandatory, and the last-minute confirmation of the race possibly a roadblock for some teams.

Future events

Work is already ongoing to expand the races next year, with the women’s edition here to stay after a turbulent few years.

“I think we can offer a brilliant, fixed point in the calendar for women’s racing,” Dutton added. “We’ve spoken to more than 50 local authorities since the start of January. What that’s done is landed where we are today with the Tour of Britain Women, where we will land in September with the Tour of Britain Men, but perhaps more excitingly, we almost have more start and finish locations than we have opportunities for next year, which is really exciting.”

This year’s route features four regular road stages, but a time trial will be re-incorporated in future editions. Ellingworth said: “To put those stages on takes a lot more work, so with the time restrictions that we had we thought, let’s keep it quite simple, let’s put on some good, safe racing and go from there.”

Dutton also indicated that another Tour de France Grand Départ in Great Britain could be in the pipeline.

“We remain absolutely committed to working with UK Sport and government partners. We appreciate what happened in 2014 was absolutely fantastic and we’d love to do everything we can to bring it back. We definitely have the same level of determination for that as we do for [the Tour of Britain races].”

The men’s race, slated for September, is also still in the works, in a similarly curtailed form at six stages compared to the usual eight.

“We want the focus now to be, up to June, on the Tour of Britain Women. The team are almost there with finalising the route for the men’s. We would anticipate somewhere between the end of the women’s race and the start of the Olympics when we will [announce the route],” Dutton said.

Lizzie Deignan

• Team Lidl-Trek
• Nationality United Kingdom
• UCI Wins 41
• Height 1.68m

Tour of Britain Women

• Dates 6 Jun - 9 Jun
• Race Length 0 kms
• Race Category Elite Women

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Small Group Tours

Small group tours of britain.

Escorted touring with a difference! Discover Britain’s beautiful winding country-roads, rolling landscapes and historic visitor attractions in the company of your friendly and knowledgeable driver-guide and an intimate touring group of no more than 14 passengers.

Travel in style on board an agile, luxury mini-coach perfect for getting off the beaten tourist track to explore the back roads and country lanes of England, Scotland and Wales. And with our experienced driver-guides taking care of all of the driving and logistics, you’re free to simply kick back and soak up the scenery.

Our guaranteed small-group size means you’ll enjoy an intimate and sociable touring experience whilst also benefitting from a host of logistical advantages such as greater group interaction, swifter check-in at attractions and quainter overnight lodging.

Our range of tours have been carefully put together to offer perfectly balanced itineraries; our guests visit must-see attractions and lesser-known gems, engage in both scheduled sightseeing and self-guided free-time and enjoy inclusive group meals alongside free-nights for independent dining.

And of course, your overnight lodging should reflect your destination; on an Adeo Travel small-group tour you’ll stay in our signature accommodation including everything from townhouse hotels and historic coaching inns to opulent country manor houses. But whatever the style, you’ll enjoy quality, comfort and characterful accommodation.

Combining regional tours you can discover the whole of the UK. See below our selection of boutique small-group tour itineraries of Britain.

  Key features

• Maximum group-size of 14 guests
• Accompanied by a friendly and professional driver-guide
• Travel by luxury mini-coach
• Choose from a range of unique itineraries
• Overnight lodging in quality and characterful hotels
• Inclusive breakfast each morning and selected evening dining
• A comprehensive sightseeing and admission program
• A dedicated travel consultant to plan your trip and a comprehensive travel documents pack prior to travel.

  Tour benefits

• An intimate and interactive touring experience
• Relax - the driving and logistics are taken care of
• Gain local insight of British history and heritage from your guiding companion
• Get off the beaten tourist track to explore Britain's back roads and hidden gems
• Enjoy authentic local experiences and cuisine for a true taste of Britain
• Experience Britain’s hospitality in quaint and characterful hotels
• Hassle-free planning and additional arrangements with your own dedicated expert.

Read more about our boutique small group tours of England, Scotland Wales, including our signature Regional and Combination tours of Britain.

Britain Small Group Tours

England small group tours, scotland small group tours, wales small group tours.

A small group tour of Wales – Discover beguiling natural landscapes and an utterly unique heritage on this journey through the enchanting nation of Wales. Following a stay in the cosmopolitan capital of Cardiff, we’ll explore the dramatic coastlines of Pembrokeshire, the towering mountains of the Snowdonia National Park and the rugged uplands of the Brecon Beacons. Along the way we’ll encounter medieval market towns, secluded villages and colossal castles. Wales is an undiscovered gem that will leave you enchanted by its natural beauty and ancient Celtic heritage.

A small group tour of Britain – Aspects of Britain offers a leisurely tour through England, Scotland and Wales for an engaging insight in to British culture and countryside. Your journey will take you through the rural regions of the South Wales valleys, the Cotswolds, the North Yorkshire Moors and the Scottish Lowlands to the heritage cities of Cardiff, York and Glasgow. Along the way we’ll visit medieval castles, roam Shakespeare country, wonder at stately homes, discover ancient abbey ruins and see shimmering Scottish lochs. The highlights of Britain are waiting to be explored.

A small group tour of Britain – discover what makes Britain Great on this small group journey through the diverse cultures and landscapes of England, Scotland and Wales. This comprehensive itinerary takes you from the peaceful coasts and mountains of Wales, through rustic landscapes of rural England and north in to remote wilderness of the Scottish Highlands. We’ll see iconic landmarks and hidden gems, visit Britain’s quaint villages and heritage cities and enjoy a host of local experiences from steam train rides through the English countryside to whisky tasting in the Highlands.  In the company of your local guides, the Great British Journey is the ultimate way to explore Britain.

A small group tour of Wales and England’s West Country – A perfect combination of Celtic cultures discover the beauty of England’s West Country and the beguiling landscapes of Wales. Your journey will take you over the barren moors and along the rugged coastlines of Devon and Cornwall before passing in to the undiscovered nation of Wales, home to towering mountains and ancient castles. This journey is a combination of our Treasures of Cornwall and Enchanting Wales tours.

A small group tour of England and Scotland – Beauty of Britain is an epic journey exploring the history, heritage and natural landscapes of England and Scotland. We’ll pass from the rolling hills of the Cotswolds, through the rustic landscapes of Yorkshire and the Lake District to the barren wilderness of the Scottish Highlands. Our journey is punctuated with visits to Britain’s heritage cities, including Oxford, York and Edinburgh, and we’ll enjoy a host of local experiences including a countryside steam train ride, ancient castle visits, traditional afternoon tea and a whisky distillery tour. The true beauty of Britain is waiting to be discovered.

A Small Group Tour of England – Discover the rich history and rustic landscapes of England on this diverse journey from the far South West to England’s Northern territories. England’s Coastline and Countryside takes you from the golden bays and craggy cliffs of Cornwall through the quintessential villages of the Cotswolds to the rugged landscapes of Yorkshire and the Lake District. Along the way we’ll visit the elegant cities of Bath, Oxford and York and enjoy a host of local visits and experiences to truly immerse ourselves in England’s unique charm and heritage.

A small group tour of England’s West Country – Treasures of The West Country takes you on a leisurely journey through the charming counties of Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, a region of unique Celtic heritage and beguiling natural landscapes. Arriving in Devon by rail, we’ll explore the barren uplands of Dartmoor and the dramatic coastlines of Cornwall before returning to the elegant Georgian city of Bath. Along the way we’ll sample local specialities, unearth Arthurian Legends, discover cliff-top castles, hear smugglers tales and explore rambling fishing villages! The South West of England’s many treasures are just waiting to be discovered.

A small group tour of England – England’s Rustic Charm is a leisurely tour exploring the highlights of central and Northern England. Departing the medieval university city of Oxford, you’ll enjoy a journey through the rolling hills and honey-coloured villages of the Cotswolds to the ruggedly beautiful landscapes of the English Lake District and Yorkshire Dales. Along the way we’ll experience the dreaming spires of Oxford, the Tudor streets of Chester and spend two nights in the charming city of York. A leisurely journey that will leave you charmed by England’s unique heritage and rustic landscapes.

A small group tour of England and Wales – Enjoy an epic journey of discovery through the varied histories and landscapes of England and Wales. We’ll see many of Britain’s most beautiful natural landscapes from the golden coasts of Pembrokeshire and the mountains of Snowdonia in Wales to the rustic hills and vales of Yorkshire and the Lake District in England. Along the way we’ll sample traditional fare and enjoy a host of local visits including archetypal medieval fortresses, stately English manors, ancient cathedrals and historic steam train journeys; the ideal tour to discover the very essence of Britain.

A Small Group Tour of England and Scotland – From the southernmost tip of the Cornish Peninsular to the remote wilderness of the Isle of Skye, enjoy an epic small-group journey through the diverse cultures and landscapes of England and Scotland. Discover the quaint fishing towns of Cornwall, the rolling hills and honey-coloured villages of the Cotswolds, the ruggedly beautiful landscapes of the English Lake District and Yorkshire Dales, and finally the barren moorlands of the Scottish Highlands. Along the way we’ll visit the heritage cities of Bath, Oxford, York, Chester, Inverness and Edinburgh, and experience regional food, drink and hospitality. South Coast to Skye is the perfect way to immerse yourself in the culture and panoramas of England and Scotland.

A small group tour of Scotland – Secrets of Scotland takes you on an epic journey through Scotland’s dramatic landscapes. We’ll discover the history, heritage and natural beauty of this enchanting nation as we pass from historic Edinburgh in to the remote wilderness of the Scottish Highlands; along the way we’ll spot unique wildlife, ancient castle ruins, shimmering lochs and deep glens. With highlights including Royal Deeside, Inverness, Loch Ness, the Isle of Skye and Glencoe you’ll come away having uncovered the many secrets of Scotland.

A small group tour of Scotland and Wales – explore the outer reaches of Britain from the glorious landscapes of the Pembrokeshire coast to the wilds of the Scottish Highlands. Two of Britain’s lesser explored regions, Wales and Scotland offer a perfect marriage boasting strikingly unique cultures but sharing a common appeal in their undiscovered natural beauty. Your journey will take you from the nations’ capital cities in Cardiff and Edinburgh to the mountains of Snowdonia and the remote seascapes of the Isle of Skye. Along the way you’ll ride steam trains, wander the flagstones of ancient castles and sample local fare.

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A book-lovers tour of britain: from the bard to the brontës, sherwood forest to sherlock holmes–top 35 stops.

A poll of 2,000 literary lovers in Britain has revealed the top 35 places to visit made famous by iconic authors and the scenes from their books.

Some of the top must-see locations for book buffs are right in London, including Shakespeare’s Globe theater, the John Keats home, and 221-B Baker Street, better known as the home of Sherlock Holmes.

Travel 56 miles (90 km) northwest of London to Oxford, and tip a pint of ale at the Eagle and Child Pub, where authors JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis, who created the mystical realms of Middle Earth and Narnia, held regular meetings on Thursday evenings with their writers’ group The Inklings.

Further into the countryside of West Yorkshire, visit Haworth, the #1 most beloved literary stop. It was the home of the Brontë sisters and its moorland setting had a profound influence on the writing of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne.

Many of the sites, like Haworth, also have museums located on the property.

Sherwood forest, with its historic connection to the legend of Robin Hood, and Shakespeare’s birth town of Stratford-upon-Avon, also joined Jane Austen’s Chawton cottage in Hampshire in the top 35 ranking (see full list below).

“Iconic locations such as Shakespeare’s Globe and the home of the Brontë sisters hold such cultural importance, and it’s great to see them feature so prominently in our research,” said Darren Hardy, author and editorial programs manager at Amazon, which commissioned OnePoll to carry out the survey to launch the Kindle UK Storyteller Award , celebrating the best self-published stories.

The University of Oxford English Literature Professor Elleke Boehmer said the British Isles are rich in vital literary traditions.

“In Britain, you almost get the sense in some literary places of the land, trees and surroundings pregnant, still, with the writer’s presence, or a sense of how they have interacted with the context—like Coleridge’s Quantock hills.

“The walks that he made through those hills still exist today, and as we walk them we can imagine him pacing out the lines of his poetry, like ‘The Ancient Mariner’, looking out onto the Bristol Channel at the passing ships from around the world.

“Some of my favorite literary sites, like Coleridge’s Nether Stowey, the Brontës’ Haworth or DH Lawrence’s Eastwood, also feature truly wonderful and significant houses where the rooms in which the writers were born, or wrote some of their key works, are preserved for all generations.”

LOOK : Rent Winnie the Pooh’s Tree House in the Original Hundred Acre Wood at This ‘Bearbnb’

The poll also asked people to name their favorite British writers—Charles Dickens came out on top, followed by Charlotte Brontë and George Orwell.

TOP 35 LITERARY LOCATIONS IN THE UK

1. Haworth, the home of Brontë sisters 2. Shakespeare’s Globe theater, London 3. Jane Austen’s Chawton cottage 4. 221B Baker Street, home of Sherlock Holmes 5. The Eagle and Child Pub, where JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis wrote 6. Sherwood Forest 7. Royal Shakespeare theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon 8. Shakespeare’s birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon 9. British Library, London 10. William Wordsworth home, Dove Cottage in Grasmere, Cumbria 11. Hilltop House, the home of Beatrix Potter 12. Whitby, the setting for Bram Stoker’s 1897 Dracula 13. PoohSticks Bridge, A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh scene in Ashdown Forest 14. Anne Hathaway’s cottage, Stratford-upon-Avon 15. Chatsworth House, named in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice 16. Charles Dickens’ birthplace museum, Portsmouth 17. The Jane Eyre trail, Peak District 18. Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey 19. Agatha Christie’s Devon retreat, Greenway 20. Roald Dahl’s Gipsy House, Great Missenden 21. Keats’ House, London 22. Thomas Hardy’s Birthplace, and Max Gate House, Dorset 23. Sedbergh book town, Lake District 24. Abbotsford, near Selkirk, Scotland, made famous by Walter Scott 25. Dylan Thomas boathouse, Laugharne, Wales 26. John Rylands library, Manchester 27. Charles Dickens home at 48 Doughty Street 28. John Milton’s Cottage, Chalfont St. Giles, Buckinghamshire 29. D.H. Lawrence Birthplace and Hagg’s Farm 30. Elizabeth Gaskell’s house, Manchester 31. Lamb House, Rye, East Sussex, associated with Henry James 32. Rudyard Kipling home, Bateman’s in East Sussex 33. Shelley Lodge, Marlow, home of Mary Shelley 34. Woolwich, and central London, famously associated to Bernardine Evaristo 35. Samuel Taylor Coleridge home, Coleridge Cottage, Nether Stowey

The Kindle Storyteller Award is a £20,000 literary prize recognizing outstanding writing, open to authors publishing in English in any genre through Kindle Direct Publishing. Readers play a significant role in selecting the winner, helped by a panel of judges including various book industry experts.

The 2024 Kindle Storyteller Award will be open for entries between 1st May and 31st August 2024.

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“We are looking forward to seeing what stories are submitted for this year’s Kindle Storyteller Award – perhaps some will have been inspired by some of our iconic literary landmarks and the authors connected to them.”

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Tour de Romandie 2024: live stream cycling online

The 77th Tour de Romandie packs in 11,000m of climbing across six stages in Switzerland

• FREE live streams
• Watch from anywhere
• Route & stages

Last year's winner Adam Yates and third-placed Damiano Caruso both return to this six day-stage race in Romandie, the French speaking area of west Switzerland to battle again in the region's beautiful mountain scenery.

Read on and we'll show you how to watch the Tour de Romandie 2024 live streams from anywhere with a VPN , and potentially for FREE .

Tour de Romandie 2024 live streams take place between Tuesday, April 23 and Sunday, April 28. Start times vary. • FREE STREAMS —   Watch on SRF (Switzerland) •   U.S. — Watch on FloBikes •   U.K. — Watch on Discovery+ • Watch anywhere — Try NordVPN

Starting with a minuscule 2.3km prologue in the town of Payerne, the 77th Tour de Romandie will cover a total of 657km and pack in over 11,000m of climbing with a time trial on stage three and summit finishes on both stages two and four at Les Marécottes and Leysin.

Favourite to repeat his victory of last year will be Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) who will be backed up by a strong team including Pavel Sivakov, Felix Großschartner and Juan Ayuso. Leading the challenge will be the ever improving Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) winner of the recent Giro d’Abruzzo Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan Team) and young French star Lenny Martinez (Groupama - FDJ).

The course isn’t just for the climbers though as with a prologue and a mid-race time trial many TT specialists are on the start sheet too including Josh Tarling and Ethan Hayter from (INEOS Grenadiers) and Rémi Cavagna (Movistar Team).

The stage three time trial more or less went to form even though rain somewhat slowed down the second half of the field. The win went to the American Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) who started in the better conditions setting an incredible time that would never be touched. 

Behind him in second place was Magnus Sheffield (Ineos-Grenadiers) with the new overall leader Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) coming in a few seconds down in 4th.  

Stage four sees the race return to the high mountains so read on for where to watch the Tour de Romandie 2024 cycling action live, wherever you are in the world.

FREE Tour de Romandie 2024 live streams

If you live in Switzerland then you can look forward to a FREE Tour de Romandie live stream in 2024. 

Switzerland's SRF is set to serve up a free stream of this six-stage stage race.

But what if you're based in Switzerland but aren't at home to catch that free Tour de Romandie coverage? Maybe you're on holiday and don't want to spend money on pay TV in another country, when you'd usually be able to watch for free at home?

Don't worry — you can watch via a VPN instead. We'll show you how to do that below.

Tour de Romandie 2024 live streams around the world

Away from home at the moment and blocked from watching the cycling on your usual subscription?

You can still watch the Tour de Romandie 2024 live thanks to the wonders of a VPN (Virtual Private Network). The software allows your devices to appear to be back in your home country regardless of where in the world you are. So ideal for viewers away on vacation or on business. Our favorite is NordVPN . It's the best on the market:

There's a good reason you've heard of NordVPN. We specialize in testing and reviewing VPN services and NordVPN is the one we rate best. It's outstanding at unblocking streaming services, it's fast and it has top-level security features too. With over 5,000 servers, across 60 countries, and at a great price too, it's easy to recommend.

Get 60% off NordVPN with this deal

Using a VPN is incredibly simple.

1. Install the VPN of your choice . As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite.

2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you're in the U.S. and want to view a Swiss service, you'd select Switzerland from the list.

3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to SRF or another streaming service and watch the action.

How to watch 2024 Tour de Romandie live streams in the U.S.

Cycling fans in the U.S. can watch the 2024 Tour de Romandie on  FloBikes . A subscription will set you back US$149.99 for the year or US$29.99 on a monthly basis.

And if you're currently out of the U.S. but still want to watch the race, then don't forget to explore  NordVPN  set out above.

How to watch Tour de Romandie 2024 live streams in the U.K.

Live coverage of the 2024 Tour de Romandie will be broadcast on Eurosport and Discovery+.

A 'standard' subscription to Discovery+ which includes Eurosport's cycling coverage will set you back £6.99 per month or £59.99 per year. The package includes year-round cycling streams as well as other live sports including snooker, tennis, motorsports, the Paris Olympic Games, and more.

A premium subscription, which includes all that plus TNT Sports ( Premier League , Champions League and Europa League football plus rugby, wrestling, UFC, and MotoGP) costs an additional £29.99 per month.

If you're currently traveling overseas, don't worry, as you can use NordVPN to watch from abroad.

How to watch Tour de Romandie live streams in Canada

Cycling fans in the Canada can watch the 2024 Tour de Romandie on  FloBikes . A subscription will set you back CAN$150 for the year or CAN$29.99 on a monthly basis.

Not at home right now? Use NordVPN or another VPN service to trick your device into thinking you're still in Canada.

Tour de Romandie 2024 stages

The race starts with a very short 2.3km prologue which will be contested by the overall favorites, keen to install a pecking order early on, and the short TT specialists looking for a chance to gain a leaders jersey in a big stage race. 

Stage one follows the next day and it’s a lumpy 165.7km from Château d’Oex to Fribourg which will likely end in a sprint finish, although there are very view big name sprinters on the start sheet.

Stage two is where the GC action will really kick off with two huge mountains and a summit finish at Salvan/Les Marécottes. This 10km final ascent, averaging 7.3%, has slopes maxing out at 14% so will be a proper test for the climbers.

Those same climbers will the next day have to take on the 15.5km continuously undulating time trial around Oron and utilise another skill needed to win a stage race.

Stage four from Saillon to Leysin is 151.7km and takes the riders into higher territory with five classified climbs including the 10km summit finish at the end.

After this the GC battle should be stitched up with just the laps around Vernier to contend with on the final stage which will likely end in a sprint.

Prologue | Tuesday April 23, | Payerne - Payerne. 2.3km

Stage 1 | Wednesday April 24, Château d’Oex - Fribourg. 165.7km

Stage 2 | Thursday April 25, Fribourg - Salvan/Les Marécottes. 171km

Stage 3 | Friday April 26, Oron - Oron. 15.5km

Stage 4 | Saturday April 27, Sailion - Leysin. 151.7km

Stage 5 | Sunday April 28, Vernier - Vernier. 150.8km

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Simon Warren has been obsessed with cycling since the summer of 1989 after watching Greg Lemond battle Laurent Fignon in the Tour de France. Although not having what it took to beat the best, he found his forte was racing up hills and so began his fascination with steep roads. This resulted in his 2010’s best-selling  100 Greatest Cycling Climbs , followed to date by 14 more guides to vertical pain. Covering the British Isles, Belgium, France, Italy and Spain he has been riding and racing up hills and mountains for over 30 years now. He hosts talks, guides rides, has written columns for magazines and in 2020 released his first book of cycling routes,  RIDE BRITAIN . Simon splits his time between working as a graphic designer and running  his 100 Climbs brand  and lives in Sheffield on the edge of the Peak District with his wife and two children.

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Jon Rahm's longing for American Express, West Coast PGA Tour events shows some LIV discontent

Is Jon Rahm having an existential crisis?

Maybe not, but the two-time major champion and two-time winner of The American Express in La Quinta is certainly not on what is believed to be the script for most LIV golfers. That script is supposed to go something like, well, I like what LIV does, it is better than the PGA Tour, it’s not all about the money and we are trying to grow the game.

Rahm keeps wandering off the script, especially in the last month.

At the Masters, for instance, Rahm talked about how LIV needs to strongly consider going to a 72-hole format rather than the 54-hole format that is one of its distinguishing characteristics. One of the criticisms of LIV is that format, though there are others who have no problem with it. Rahm, however, would like to see it changed .

Then came the Masters itself, where Rahm didn’t play well. And he looked miserable in Butler Cabin waiting to put the green jacket on new champion Scottie Scheffler.

More: What's the reason behind Masters' sharp decline in TV ratings? There might be several reasons

Now comes Rahm doubling down on comments he made earlier this year about wishing he could still play in some of his favorite PGA Tour events. Obviously, he still gets to play in the four majors, which are not controlled by the PGA Tour. But when he left the PGA Tour in December to join LIV, it meant being suspended from other PGA Tour events.

It might not make anyone at The American Express feel better, but their tournament is one that Rahm misses. While saying he’s playing all 14 LIV events this year, the four majors and the Ryder Cup, Rahm laments the open weeks of the calendar where he could be back in his favorite places, including the Coachella Valley.

Loving California

“There’s some PGA Tour events that if it’s not conflicting with my LIV schedule I’d love to go play. I’ve said numerous times and I’ll say it again, Palm Springs (The American Express), Torrey Pines (in San Diego), Phoenix, L.A., if I’m allowed to be able to play, the Players. Those are events that if I could, I would love to play.”

Three of those tournaments -- The American Express, The Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego and the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles -- are tournaments Rahm has won. He has always expressed a love for West Coast events, in particular Torrey Pines and the city of San Diego.

So is this buyer’s remorse from Rahm, who signed with LIV for something reported to be just short of $600 million? Or is it just a guy who can’t help being honest, a trait that made him popular with his fellow players and media members when he played on the PGA Tour?

Either way, Rahm is making a case – whether he knows it or not – for the PGA Tour and LIV to reach a deal and get to it sooner rather than later. The PGA Tour began doling out equity money to its players this week, money aided by the tour’s $3 billion deal with Strategic Sports Group. But another deal with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Trust is out there, with talks ongoing. That deal could bring more money to the PGA Tour, but it could also work to unify a game that has been divided by defections from the PGA Tour to LIV.

Rahm’s jump to LIV in November and his inability to defend three PGA Tour titles in the first seven weeks of this season, including The American Express, seemed to be a tipping point for many fans. Since then, PGA Tour ratings have been down around 20 percent (the American Express ratings were actually up in January) and many fans have said they have lost some interest in the professional game.

Rahm certainly isn’t speaking for all LIV players when he talks about 72-hole tournaments and wanting to expand his schedule by playing a handful of PGA Tour events that he really enjoys. But for now Rahm is the biggest signing LIV has over the last two years short perhaps of Phil Mickelson in 2022. So when he talks with a certain discontent in his comments, the powers on both sides of the professional golf divide probably need to be listening.

Larry Bohannan is the golf writer for The Desert Sun. You can contact him at (760) 778-4633 or at [email protected]. Follow him on Facebook or on Twitter at @larry_bohannan. Support local journalism. Subscribe to The Desert Sun.

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Ellen DeGeneres complains she was ‘kicked out of show business’ for being mean as she begins comedy tour

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Ellen DeGeneres’ new stand-up routine includes a bit about getting booted from Hollywood for being “mean” after her 2020 toxic workplace scandal.

The former “Ellen DeGeneres Show” host, who performed at Largo at the Coronet Theater in West Hollywood Wednesday, complained to viewers that she was “kicked out of show businesses” not once but twice.

“There here’s no mean people in show business. The ‘be kind’ girl wasn’t kind,” DeGeneres, 66, said on stage during her new tour, “Ellen’s Last Stand…Up Tour.” ( via Rolling Stone ).

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“I became this one-dimensional character who gave stuff away and danced up steps. Do you know how hard it is to dance up steps? Would a mean person dance up steps? Had I ended my show by saying, ‘Go f–k yourself,’ people would’ve been pleasantly surprised.”

The “Finding Dory” voice actor reminded viewers that she also got the boot from TV when she came out as gay, thus ending her eponymous sitcom “Ellen” in the late ’90s.

“Eventually they’re going to kick me out for a third time because I’m mean, old, and gay,” she quipped.

DeGeneres experienced her second fall from grace in 2020 when she was accused of leading a toxic workplace , which resulted in the firing of three of her top producers .

Employees came forward and accused DeGeneres of leading the set with intimidation, racism and fear. A producer on an Australian morning show who had been on the set even claimed the comedian demanded no one make eye contact with her.

“I’m giving stuff away…and I danced, then I was mean and they didn’t like me again,” she said during her performance.

“It’s been such a toll on my ego and my self-esteem. There’s such extremes in this business, people either love you and idolize you or they hate you, and those people somehow are louder.”

Warner Bros. canceled the celebrity-filled talk show in 2022 following the controversy.

“This was a whole different thing,” she replied to a fan at the end of the set when she launched into an informal conversation with attendees. “This was like, ‘What is going on?’ It was so hurtful. I couldn’t gain perspective.

“I couldn’t do anything to make myself understand that it wasn’t personal,” she continued. “I just thought, ‘Well this is not the way I wanted to end my career, but this is the way it’s ending.’”

Jokes aside, the “Saving the Gorillas” narrator admitted the scandal was “devastating.”

“I just hated the way the show ended,” she shared. “I love that show so much and I just hated that the last time people would see me is that way.”

DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi, admitted during the event that they both lay low in the aftermath because it was hard on both of them, but now they’re ready to get back to living.

“It’s hard to dance when you’re crying,” DeGeneres told an audience member. “But I am dancing now.”

“Ellen’s Last Stand…Up Tour” will head to San Diego, Calif., then Washington State, Oregon and the Bay Area. She told the crowd that her tour will culminate with a new Netflix special that will tape in the fall.

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Expert Picks: Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Expert Picks

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How it works: Each week, our experts from PGATOUR.COM will make their selections in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf. Each lineup consists of four starters and two bench players that can be rotated after each round. Adding to the challenge is that every golfer can be used only three times per each of four Segments.

Aside from the experts below, Golfbet Insider Rob Bolton breaks down the field at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in this week's edition of Power Rankings .

Betting picks

WILL GRAY (Lead, Fantasy & Betting)

• Winners: Nick Taylor/Adam Hadwin (+2800) – Two proven TOUR winners that will be looking to channel some good Presidents Cup vibes. I remain impressed with Taylor’s grasp of clutch moments and think these two could have the right resolve in crunch time.
• Top 10: Taylor Moore/Matthew NeSmith (+300) – An eye-catching price on a pair that finished T4 here each of the last two years and now has double the margin for error to still cash a placement bet.
• Longshot: Dylan Wu/Justin Lower (+6600) – Lower is someone that I think is trending toward a breakthrough, including a T4 finish last week in Punta Cana while Wu has been largely solid this spring.
• H2H: Taylor/Hadwin (-110) over Sepp Straka/Brice Garnett – Like Matt, I’m going to run it back with my winner’s pick in the head-to-head market as I’ll happily back the Canadians over a duo that has been more erratic in recent weeks, particularly Garnett outside of his Puerto Rico win.

BEN EVERILL (Senior writer, Fantasy & Betting)

• Winners: Schauffele/Cantlay (+450) – I’m not a fan of advocating these short odds but this smells of a few years ago where these two can play their way back into full confidence ahead of the rest of the season.
• Top 10: Nicolai Højgaard/Rasmus Højgaard (+210) – One of three sets of brothers in the field this one brings firepower and winning gravitas from the DP World Tour. This is a preview for future Ryder Cups …
• Longshots: Pierceson Coody/Parker Coody (+10000) – Let’s keep the brotherly love going. They have the teamwork side of things down pat and many a good judge from the lower leagues of golf suggest these two are stars in the making with clearly a good pedigree in the sport.
• H2H: Højgaard/Højgaard (-110) over Matt Fitzpatrick/Alex Fitzpatrick – As good as Matt Fitzpatrick is, I’m still waiting to see more from Alex. He was awesome at The Open Championship last year but struggled a bit in this event leaving me to trust the Højgaards.

CHRIS BREECE (Senior content manager, Golfbet)

• Winners: Schauffele/Cantlay (+450) – It’s one of those weeks where I feel like overthinking things is a bad idea. Both players have shown they are making progress towards getting back to the top of their games. Both are also hungry for a win. With so many random pairings out there, I’m willing to take the short odds.
• Top 10: Collin Morikawa/Kurt Kitayama (+115) – Morikawa has gotten things figured out. Though Kitayama hasn’t lived up to the standards of his Arnold Palmer Invitational win presented by Mastercard last year, he’s playing consistent golf right now with a Top 40 in nine of his 10 starts in 2024.
• Longshot: Nick Hardy/Davis Riley (+5500) – The winners here last year. They’ve proven they love the team format and will find that spark again.
• H2H: Taylor/Hadwin (-110) over Straka/Garnett – The pair finished second last year. Taylor has a win this year. Hadwin has two top-fives in his last six starts.

MATT DELVECCHIO (Social content manager, Fantasy & Betting)

• Winners: Davis Thompson/Andrew Novak (+4500) – It’s hard to find a pairing where both players are in good form. Novak was red hot in February and Thompson has had solid showings late March through early April. I trust the two of these guys will be able to lean on each other's ball-striking and put up a ton of birdies.
• Top 10: Corey Conners/Taylor Pendrith (+225) – Both of the Canadian pairings have a lot to like but I’ll lean Conners/Pendrith over Taylor/Hadwin.
• Longshot: Garrick Higgo/Ryan Fox (+6600) – The hope is that Fox can motivate Higgo to put together some great scoring this week. Fox has obviously been great recently, it's Higgo who is the wild car. I trust the team format brings some good play out of him.
• H2H: Thompson/Novak (+105) over Doug Ghim/Chan Kim – Running back my winner in the matchup (could come back to hurt me).

Odds were sourced on Tuesday, April 23. For live odds, visit BetMGM .

Want to see how to set up your PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf lineup? Scroll below.

THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN OUR EXPERTS? The PGA TOUR Experts league is once again open to the public. You can play our free fantasy game and see how you measure up against our experts below.

Joining the league is simple. Just click here to sign up or log in. Once you create a team, click the "LEAGUES" tab. Then click on "FEATURED," and then on the PGA TOUR Experts league that populates.

*Brett Jungles joined the Expert Picks league at the beginning of Segment 1 and did not accumulate any points from the FedExCup Fall.

Golfbet experts longshot: 0-15

For resources to overcome a gambling problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER today.

Tour of Britain 2022: The Route

The 1st stage traverses the Scottish Highlands to finish on the 9.1 kilometres long climb to Glenshee Ski Centre.

The 2nd stage of the Tour of Britain takes place in the Scottish Borders. Promising finale with three short climbs before a downhill onto the flat final kilometre.

Stage 3 is yet another lumpy test. The first part in particular, the second part is much more sprinters friendly.

The fourth day of action is expected to be an important one in terms of the GC battle. Carlton Bank opens the finale of stage 4 with a 2 kilometres climb at 9.8% before Newsgate Bank – 1.6 kilometres at 7% – precedes a descent into Helmsley.

Stage 5 is – on paper – the easiest race of the week with a bunch the most likely outcome, while stage 6 is another emblematic Tour of Britain test. The hilly route features a 2.2 kilometres climb at 5.7% inside the last 10 kilometres.

The 7th stage includes three KOM climbs in the heart of the route, but the finale is played out on gently undulating terrain.

The riders will be criss-crossing the Isle of Wight on the final day of action. In fact, the Tour of Britain reaches its finale on the punchy climb to Tennyson Down, with its last 400 metres at an unforgiving 9.6%. In other words, the GC battle is expected to rage until the dying metres of the final stage .

Tour of Britain 2022: routes, profiles, more

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Tour of Britain 2022

Latest news from the race.

Tour of Britain cancelled following the death of Queen Elizabeth II

Michal Kwiatkowski: It’s been the worst season ever

Jordi Meeus fastest in reduced sprint to win stage 5 at Tour of Britain

Tour of britain 2022 overview.

When is Tour of Britain: 10 stages from September 4 to September 11

How long is Tour of Britain : 1,352.1km

Where does the race start: Aberdeen

Where does it finish: The Needles

The latest results from Tour of Britain

The organisers of the  Tour of Britain , SweetSpot, announced the cancellation of the final three stages of the race following the death of Queen Elizabeth ll on Thursday, September 8. 

SweetSpot issued a first statement upon the conclusion of stage 5 in Mansfield, announcing that it had cancelled stage 6 from Tewkesbury to Gloucester, and later announced the cancellation of stage 7 from West Bay to Ferndown and stage 8 from Ryde to The Needles.

Gonzalo Serrano ( Movistar ), who was leading the overall classification at the conclusion of stage 5, was announced as the overall winner of the 2022 Tour of Britain. Tom Pidcock and Omar Fraile , both Ineos Grenadiers , finished second and third overall, respectively.

• Stage 5: Jordi Meeus fastest in reduced sprint to win stage 5 at Tour of Britain
• Stage 4: Gonzalo Serrano pips Pidcock to win Tour of Britain stage 4
• Stage 3: Bonneu claims Tour of Britain stage 3 from breakaway
• Stage 2: Cees Bol takes photo finish win in Tour of Britain stage 2
• Stage 1: Corbin Strong wins Tour of Britain opener at Glenshee Ski Centre summit

Tour of Britain 2022 Information

The Tour of Britain kicks off on September 4 offering the peloton a 1,352.1km of racing across eight stages that concludes on September 11 at The Needles.

Rich in history, it is a prominent stage race that has its origins back in 1945. However, the current version of the Tour of Britain, not organised by SweetSpot, began in 2004. 

The multi-day event was registered at the 2.1-level but moved up to the 2.HC status in 2014, and then 2.Pro ranks in 2020, though cancelled that year due to COVID-19. While the event has never made the jump up to WorldTour, it remains as one of the most prestigious events of Great Britain.

Champions of the modern Tour of Britain include last year's winner Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel (2019), Julian Alaphilippe (2018), Lars Boom (2011 and 2017), Steven Cummings (2016) and Edvald Boasson Hagen (2009 and 2015), Bradley Wiggins (2013), and Dylan van Baarle (2014). 

Tour of Britain Stages

• Stage 1 - Aberdeen to Glenshee Ski Centre, 181.3km
• Stage 2 - Hawick to Duns, 175.2km
• Stage 3 - Durham to Sunderland, 163.6km
• Stage 4 - Redcar to Duncombe Park, Helmsley, 149.5km
• Stage 5 - West Bridgford to Mansfield, 186.8km
• Stage 6 - Tewkesbury to Gloucester, 170.9km
• Stage 7 - West Bay to Ferndown, 175.9km
• Stage 8 - Ryde to The Needles, 148.9km

Tour of Britain Contenders

Positioned annually in September, the Tour of Britain offers many riders an opportunity to contest late-season stage racing and potentially to prepare for the UCI Road World Championships, which are held in Australia from September 17-25.

Defending champion, Wout van Aert and his team Jumbo-Visma are not scheduled to compete in this year's event, however, the eight-day race will feature 18 teams, including five WorldTour teams Ineos Grenadiers , Movistar , Team DSM , Israel-Premier Tech , and Bora-Hansgrohe .

The organisers of the event are yet to confirm the official start list, but they have revealed several key riders that will be participating. 

In his final season before retirement, Australia's Richie Porte will lead Ineos Grenadiers at this year's Tour of Britain. Belgium's Dylan Teuns will lead the GC hopes for his team Israel-Premier Tech. British Cycling will also field a national team led by Connor Swift .

Tour of Britain most successful riders

• Edvald Boasson Hagen (2009 and 2015) won more than one edition of the modern Tour of Britain, and Lars Boom won twice (2011 and 2017).
• Wout van Aert won the most recent edition in 2021
• Julian Alaphilippe and Mathieu van der Poel won the race in 2018 and 2019.
• Mark Cavendish (10) has won the most stages of the race, followed by Boasson Hagen (8) and André Greipel (7).

Tour of Britain Teams

• Ineos Grenadiers
• Israel - Premier Tech
• Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling
• Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB
• Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
• Human Powered Health
• BORA - hansgrohe
• Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè
• Movistar Team
• Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
• Saint Piran
• Global 6 Cycling
• Team Qhubeka
• Great Britain
• Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise
• Trinity Racing

Tour of Britain 2022 Preview - A hilly profile for home favourite Pidcock

• Tour of Britain past winners
• Tour of Britain 2022 route

• Stage 6 | Tewkesbury - Gloucester 2022-09-09 169km
• Stage 7 | West Bay - Ferndown 2022-09-10 180km
• Stage 8 | Ryde - The Needles 2022-09-11 150km

Latest Content on the Race

By Kirsten Frattini last updated 8 September 22

News 'We would like to send our deepest condolences to the whole of the Royal Family' says organiser SweetSpot

By Andy McGrath published 8 September 22

News The Polish former World Champion looks forward to a better 2023

UCI relegation system 'encourages weird racing' says Michael Woods

By Andy McGrath published 7 September 22

News The Canadian rider is helping Israel–Premier Tech fend off relegation

Tom Pidcock: It was everyone against Ineos Grenadiers at Tour of Britain

News The young British rider was outsprinted by Movistar's Gonzalo Serrano

Richie Porte: It's the end of an era

News 'I'm ready for retirement but at the same time, I know it's going to be a big shock and change.'

Meet Corbin Strong, the surprise of the Tour of Britain

News New Zealander neo-pro led race after debut win on opening stage

Ben Perry takes Tour of Britain lead as commissaires change stage 3 result

By Andy McGrath published 6 September 22

News Strong ousted by reversal of jury ruling on gap to chasing peloton

How to watch the 2022 Tour of Britain – live TV and streaming

By Daniel Ostanek last updated 6 September 22

News Pidcock, Teuns, Porte, Woods, Jorgenson among the major names headlining 18th edition

Preview Day one summit finish could prove to be GC decider, with mix of sprints and hills throughout the week

'There’s a lot more out there than the WorldTour' - Alex Dowsett reveals retirement plans

By Andy McGrath last updated 6 September 22

News Gravel racing, a return to the domestic time trial scene and aero clothing development amongst the British rider's plans

Top News on the Race

Jake Stewart: Tour of Britain sprint was five metres too far

When it rains it pours - A wrong turn for Tour of Britain convoy and field

Tom Pidcock opts out of Worlds in Australia due to racing and training fatigue

2022 Tour of Britain to start and end with hilltop finishes

Related features.

Ned Boulting's Tour of Britain 2022 favourites

More From Forbes

Harry potter tour revenue surges past $1 billion.

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The Harry Potter tour in Leavesden is a big money spinner for Warner Bros.

Britain's Harry Potter movie tour has generated more than $1 billion of revenue since it opened 12 years ago according to its latest financial statements which show that sales doubled to a record $184.4 million (£149.1 million) in 2022 as the end of pandemic restrictions cast a powerful spell on the attraction.

The tour is set inside two cream-coloured cavernous soundstages at Leavesden Studios on the outskirts of London. Owned by media giant Warner Bros. Discovery WBD , Leavesden was originally an aircraft factory before it was converted into a movie studio in 1994 so that James Bond flick GoldenEye could film there.

Warner bought Leavesden in 2010 making it the first studio to have a permanent European base since Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1940s. Leavesden re-opened in 2012 after Warner invested more than $123.7 million (£100 million) in the site. Since then it has been home to well over 50 productions including all eight Potter films, the three Fantastic Beasts spin-offs and last year's highest-grossing movie, Barbie .

The studio generates 39.7% of Leavesden's total revenue which rose by $87.5 million (£70.7 million) to a record $305.8 million (£247.2 million) in the year to 31 December 2022 as we revealed in Britain's Sunday Times newspaper. The increase was entirely driven by the tour as studio revenue dipped 2.9% to $121.3 million (£98.1 million).

Revenue is increasing at Warner Bros' Leavesden studios

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Over the past few years soaring inflation and the cost of living crisis has caused consumers to cut streaming subscriptions leading to studios scaling back the number of shows in production.

It didn't stop there as Leavesden faced the challenge of strikes in Hollywood when actors and writers downed their tools for more than six months last year in a bid to boost the royalties they receive. Warner is still counting the cost of this and on February 23 announced that revenue for the fourth quarter of 2023 was down 7% to $10.2 billion partly driven by strike-induced production delays. On the day of the announcement its shares closed 10% down at $8.61, almost the lowest price since the group was created by the merger of AT&T’s T WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc in April 2022.

The impact is being felt far beyond the studios as special effects firm Framestore, which created the spellbinding visuals in the Potter movies, said it expects margins "to be impacted" by the strikes in 2023.

In contrast, the tour behind the scenes of the Potter movies has been a dream ticket for Warner. Leavesden's net profit more than doubled last year to $87.8 million (£71 million) which was largely driven by the tour given that the studio's revenue reversed. Since 2012 Leavesden has generated total net profits of $589.6 million (£476.7 million) and paid $289.4 million (£234 million) of dividends to Warner.

Guests can wander through recreations of classic Harry Potter locations (photo by Andrew Aitchison / ... [+] In pictures via Getty Images)

Since it opened 12 years ago more than 18 million people have streamed through the tour's turnstiles generating a total of $1.2 billion (£935.8 million) of revenue – 67.5% more than the studio has made.

The tour is filled with props and sets from the movies with the latest addition being Professor Sprout's Greenhouse which opened in summer 2022. From the outside, the giant greenhouse appears to be in the grip of a giant vine which covers the walls inside. Its tendrils spread into flower boxes where plants seem to sprout from them. Visitors can uproot them to reveal a squealing shrub as Harry and his chums did in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets .

As we recently revealed , the tour has been so successful that Warner has invested more than $115 million in its first overseas outpost which opened in Tokyo last year and is 50% bigger than its British counterpart.

Leavesden operates the Japanese facility as well as the wildly popular chain of Potter shops and the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stage show which premiered in London in 2016 to critical acclaim. Since then it has expanded to five other countries and is still growing as the financial statements reveal that "in 2022 the company invested in another production of the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ."

The company also produces the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stage show (Photo by Sam ... [+] Tabone/WireImage)

Despite the logjam in Hollywood, Leavesden too is expanding. Last year it announced plans to build 11 new sound stages which will increase production capacity by more than 50% and will create 4,000 direct and indirect jobs. It is expanding to stay in the game in the face of increasing competition.

Britain has become a popular location for filming thanks to its generous fiscal benefits which give studios a reimbursement of up to 25.5% of the amount they spend in the country. It explains why Shepperton Studios, just outside London, is planning a 1.2 million square feet expansion which will make it the world's second-biggest studio.

Likewise, nearby Pinewood plans to spend $1.6 billion (£1.3 billion) on new facilities including a studio tour which will put it in even more direct competition with Leavesden. Over the past 80 years Pinewood has been home to everything from the Pink Panther and Paddington to Superman and Star Wars so it may take more than the wave of a magic wand to beat.

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Nas announces Illmatic 30th anniversary tour of UK and Europe

Rapper will play four shows across britain, including a stop at the royal albert hall, article bookmarked.

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Nas has announced a new UK and European tour to mark the 30th anniversary of his groundbreaking debut album Illmatic .

The 50-year-old rapper will perform Illmatic , which he released at the age of 20, in full.

Register below to buy advance tickets in the presale.

The 15-date tour will begin in Finland in October before arriving in Britain on 10 November for shows in Manchester, Edinburgh, Wolverhampton and London.

The platinum-certified album includes classic Nas tracks such as “N.Y State of Mind”, “Halftime”, “The World Is Yours” and “It Ain’t Hard to Tell” and is regularly cited as one of the most important and influential records in rap history.

In 2021, The Independent ’s Sam Moore wrote : “As listeners of Illmatic and the rest of his discography know, Nas was always an old head with a baby face, more philosopher than hustler – but he is also a linguistic genius, capable of bending words, rhymes and syllables at will.”

The new tour will begin at the House of Culture in Helsinki, Finland on 22 October. It will then call at B-K in Stockholm, Sweden (24 October), Kb Hallen in Copenhagen, Denmark (25 October), the Palladium in Cologne, Germany(27 October), Fabrique in Milan, Italy (30 October) and Halle 622 in Zurich, Switzerland on 31 October.

In November, Nas will play the Gasometer in Vienna, Austria (2 November), the Uber Eats Music Hall in Berlin, Germany (3 November), AFAS Live in Amsterdam, the Netherlands (5 November), Le Zenith in Paris, France (7 November) and Stadthalle Offenbach in Offenbach, Germany on 8 November.

In the UK, Nas will appear at the O2 Victoria Warehouse in Manchester (10 November), Usher Hall, Edinburgh (11 November), University Wolverhampton at the Civic Hall, Wolverhampton (14 November) and finally the Royal Albert Hall in London on 15 November.

Fans can register here to buy tickets in the presale, which begins at 10am BST on Tuesday 23 April.

General tickets go on sale at 10am BST on Thursday 25 April.

In a five-star review of Nas’ 2021 album King’s Disease 2 , The Independent ’s Annabel Nugent wrote: “While most of today’s prominent rappers were not yet born when a 20-year-old Nasir Jones was coming up in New York City, you’d be hard-pressed to find one that doesn’t cite his 1994 benchmark debut Illmatic as an inspiration. A wordsmith, revered elder statesman, teacher, storyteller: the legend around Nas is all-encompassing.”

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