The Tour of Britain has a proud heritage going back to the Kellogg’s Tour (1987 – 1994) and even further to the Milk Race (1958 – 1986) and back to 1945 for the Victory Marathon.
Originally the race was for amateur riders only and it wasn’t until 1985 that a mix of professional and amateur riders took to the roads.
The current professional version the Tour of Britain started in 2004 when the winner was the Colombian rider Mauricio Ardilia of the Chocolade Jacques-Wincor Nixdorf Team.
There have only 2 British Winners of the modern Tour of Britain, Bradley Wiggins in 2013 (Team Sky) and Steve Cummings in 2016 (Team Dimension Data).
There was no race in 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The 2022 AJ Bell Tour of Britain is a fully professional mens cycling stage race.
It is the 81st running of the modern version of the race, and is scheduled for eight stages which started on Sunday 4th September and was due to finish on the Isle of Wight on Sunday 11th Sept.
The first stage, was cold, wet and very windy, on a 180km route from Aberdeen to the Glenshee Ski Centre. It was won by New Zealander Corbin Strong.
Stage 2 had much better weather and the course was still wholly in Scotland.
Stage 3 had moved south into England and was run from Durham to Sunderland. However, again the heavens opened.
Stages 4 and 5 were much better weather wise.
At 06:30pm on Thursday 8th September – the nation was shocked to hear the announcement of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
At 09:00pm the organisers released a statement:
“The Tour of Britain organisation, alongside the teams, riders and officials involved in the event, are deeply saddened by the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
We would like to send our deepest condolences to the whole of the Royal Family.
As a result, stage six in Gloucestershire on Friday 9 September, scheduled to take place between Tewkesbury and Gloucester, will not take place.
Further updates in regards to the status of stages seven and eight will be provided in due course.”
A further statement was released at 10:30pm Thursday 8th Sept 2002:
“Further to the earlier statement in relation to the cancellation of stage six as a mark of respect following the passing of Her Majesty The Queen, the organisers of the AJ Bell Tour of Britain can additionally confirm that stages seven (Dorset) and eight (Isle of Wight) will not take place.
This decision has been taken in consultation with stakeholders and partners in light of operational circumstances, including the understandable reassignment of police resource at this time.
Therefore, the final standings will be taken following the conclusion of stage five on Thursday 8 September. The winner of the AJ Bell Tour of Britain 2022 will be Gonzalo Serrano (Movistar Team).
Additionally, the respective classification leaders – Tom Pidcock (Dodl by AJ Bell points), Mathijs Paasschens (ŠKODA King of the Mountains) and Matthew Teggart (Sportsbreaks.com sprints) – will also be declared the winners of those competitions.
The Tour of Britain organisation, alongside the teams, riders and officials involved in the event, send their deepest condolences to the Royal Family at this sad time.”
I am sure that the Tour of Britain will be once again on the roads of the UK come September 2023.