Tour of Britain 2024 route announced: From the Scottish Borders to Suffolk

Cyclist
Tour of Britain 2024 route announced: From the Scottish Borders to Suffolk

The Tour of Britain is not far away. Last autumn, Wout van Aert took the overall title after a week of domination alongside Jumbo-Visma teammate Olav Kooij. With two months to go until a new winner is crowned, British Cycling has unveiled the route for the 2024 edition.

The 2024 event – which stands as ‘Britain’s biggest free-to-attend sporting spectacle’ – will begin in Kelso in the Scottish Borders on Tuesday 3rd September and will finish in Felixstowe, Suffolk on Sunday 8th September. The race will travel southwards from the southeast of Scotland. The six-day race will pass through North Yorkshire, Sheffield, Northamptonshire and East Anglia throughout the week of racing, with one stage still to be confirmed.

This will be the first edition of the men’s race since its organisation was taken over by British Cycling at the end of 2023. This means this will be the first men’s Tour of Britain led by new race director Rod Ellingworth, former team director at Ineos and the British Olympic squad.

Tour of Britain 2024: Key information

Dates: Tuesday 3rd to Sunday 8th September 2024
Start: Kelso, Scotland
Finish: Felixstowe, England
UK television coverage: ITV4, Eurosport, Discovery+
Television coverage elsewhere: Eurosport (Europe, Asia and Oceania), Discovery+ (Europe, Asia, Oceania and North America), L’Équipe (France), RTVC (Colombia), Starzplay (North Africa), SuperSport (Sub-Saharan Africa)

Tour of Britain 2024 route

The 2024 edition of the Tour of Britain will be six stages long. This means this Tour of Britain will be the shortest since 2007 (with the exception of the 2022 race, which was abandoned early due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II). At the moment, five of the six stages have had host town information released. We await further information about Stage 4’s location.

Based on this current knowledge, the Tour will visit England and Scotland, omitting Wales, which held half of the racing at the recent Tour of Britain Women in June. The race also takes place in the north of Great Britain for the most part.

There will be no time-trial involved, neither will the race close out with a city-centre stage in Manchester, London or Glasgow. The race will, however, include a cobbled finish, steep kickers and wind-exposed roads. Yes please.

Tour of Britain 2024 stage-by-stage preview

Stage 1: Tuesday 3rd September, Kelso – Kelso

After a year’s hiatus from the men’s race, Scotland returns to the Tour of Britain parcours.

The race will begin in Kelso, the hometown of DSM-Firmenich-PostNL rider Oscar Onley. The route and stage type are unknown at this point, but the cobbled market square will host the start and the finish. The last phase of the race will take place on a circuit.

In the past, Jayco-AlUla have had success under their previous monikers in Kelso. Caleb Ewan won in the town in 2017 and Matteo Trentin took a win here in 2019.

In niche local trivia, Kelso is twinned with Orchies, a town situated on a cobbled sector from the Hell of the North, Paris-Roubaix.

Stage 2: Wednesday 4th September, Darlington – Redcar

Stage 2 heads into England with a start in Darlington. The stage will traverse the Tees Valley with a visit to Saltburn Bank along the way, the hill that has decided the previous two British National Championships. The North Moors provides some bumps to the profile before rejoining the North Sea coast to the finish.

The stage will end in the steelmaking town of Redcar. The finishing approach has been confirmed by race organisers to take place along the seafront of the North Yorkshire town.

Stage 3: Thursday 5th September, Sheffield – Barnsley

The third stage of racing kicks off in the South Yorkshire city of Sheffield. The hometown of the Arctic Monkeys, Adam Blythe and Michael Palin, Sheffield has hosted the Tour of Britain and the Tour de France in the past two decades. This will be Sheffield’s big comeback to cycling, as the city hasn’t hosted a stage of Britain’s top stage race since 2006.

The organisers have teased that Stage 3 will be a ‘tough stage’ most likely through the Peak District and Yorkshire Moors. The finish is certain to be in Barnsley, however. The South Yorkshire town – birthplace of England international footballer John Stones – has never hosted a stage of the Tour of Britain. It has, on the other hand, hosted stages of the now-defunct Tour de Yorkshire.

Stage 4: Friday 6th September, TBC – TBC

Don’t worry, TBC is not a secret newly built city in the Midlands. The details of Stage 4 are yet to be announced.

We await where it could possibly be. For the sake of speculation, it is likely to be somewhere between Yorkshire and Northamptonshire. Perhaps this could be Lincolnshire or Nottinghamshire.

Stage 5: Saturday 7th September, Northampton – Northampton

Stage 5, the penultimate stage, will both start and finish in Northampton. The town will make its men’s Tour of Britain debut this year. It has previously featured in the Women’s Tour. Emma Johansson won a stage here in the back in 2014, the race’s inaugural edition.

The organisers tell us that the stage will take place around West Northamptonshire. This part of the county is incredibly flat, so expect a sprint stage on the penultimate day of racing.

Stage 6: Sunday 8th September, Lowestoft – Felixstowe

Finally, the race will travel a couple of hours down the road to Suffolk for the closing stage of the 2024 Tour of Britain. The day begins in Lowestoft, the most easterly town in the UK, and ends in Felixstowe. In fact, the arrival will be the same as Stage 5 from last year’s Tour of Britain won by Wout van Aert. Given the flat terrain of Suffolk, expect another bunch gallop to the line.

Beware of the East Anglian wind, there is a real chance that last-minute echelons could affect the sixth and final stage.

‘The very best of Britain’s character and terrain’

The route has been met online with positive reaction. Some social media commenters appear upset by the omission of the southeast of England from the route once again, however the return to Scotland has been well received.

In response to the route reveal earlier today, Jonathan Day, British Cycling’s events managing director, said, ‘We’re delighted to be bringing top-level racing and the joy of cycling to communities across the country in September, with six stages to showcase the very best of Britain’s character and terrain.’

More details are to come on the Tour of Britain. Cyclist will preview the competition in full closer to the race.

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