Race includes visits to Edinburgh and Trafalgar Square
Wednesday 18 March 2015 11:40, UK
Wales will host the start of the Friends Life Tour of Britain for the first time in September, with the 2015 edition featuring a tough summit finish and a new circuit around London.
The race will start on Sunday, September 6, with a stage starting on the island of Anglesey and finishing in Wrexham after a lumpy ride of 177km, including the nasty Pen-y-Pass climb.
Lancashire hosts stage two, which includes the Nick O'Pendle climb, before the race heads further north, with stage three finishing in the Scottish borders town of Kelso and stage four starting in Holyrood Park in Edinburgh.
But the race could be won and lost on stage five, which will trace Hadrian's Wall from Prudhoe in Northumberland into Cumbria and the Lake District before finishing atop Hartside Fell in the Pennines. At five miles long and 1,904ft high, it will be the highest and toughest summit finish in modern Tour of Britain history.
The sixth stage takes the peloton from Stoke-on-Trent to Nottingham - race director Mick Bennett believes it is the toughest of the race - and the longest stage takes place on September 12, a 225km ride from Fakenham to Ipswich where cross-winds could be an issue.
London will host the final stage on September 13, but the 92km race features an all-new circuit because of Cycle Superhighway construction. It will see the riders embark on 15 laps of a 6.2km circuit, starting and finishing on Regent Street, and including such sightseeing highlights as Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, the Strand and Whitehall.
Bennett said: "Riders are very serious about the Tour of Britain. They don't ride around getting the miles in. They race every day and the UK-based teams make sure the racing is from where the neutralised zone ends until the end.
"One WorldTour team told me, 'It was like riding a classic every day for eight days'. I think they meant it as an insult, but I took it as a compliment."
Stage one: Sunday, September 6 - Beaumaris, Anglesey to Wrexham - 177km
Stage two: Monday, September 7 - Clitheroe to Colne - 162km
Stage three: Tuesday, September 8 - Cockermouth to Floors Castle, Kelso - 216km
Stage four: Wednesday, September 9 - Edinburgh to Blyth - 218km
Stage five: Thursday, September 10 - Prudhoe to Hartside Fell - 171km
Stage six: Friday, September 11 - Stoke-on-Trent to Nottingham - 189km
Stage seven: Saturday, September 12 - Fakenham to Ipswich - 225km
Stage eight: Sunday, September 13 - London criterium - 93km
