2016 Tour of Britain Race Preview
The details of this year's 2016 Tour of Britain are falling into place. Find the latest route profiles and maps below, followed by our strategic preview of the race.
The 2016 Tour of Britain arrives as one of the most anticipated editions of the race in recent years, with a route that promises to test the full range of abilities across the peloton over eight demanding stages. Starting in Glasgow and finishing in London, the race will take riders through some of the most challenging terrain Britain has to offer, weaving through Scotland, the north of England, Wales, and the west country before its traditional conclusion in the capital.
The defending champion is Lars Boom of LottoNL-Jumbo, though the Dutchman faces fierce competition from a startfield that includes several major names from the WorldTour. Sky will be looking to make their presence felt on home roads and will bring a strong squad capable of controlling the race across multiple stages. The British team always attracts huge crowds and intense media attention whenever they compete on domestic soil, and they will be eager to put on a show for their supporters.
The climbers will have their opportunities with several hilly stages baked into the itinerary, particularly as the race moves through Wales and the southwest. These sections have historically been decisive in shaping the overall classification, and riders with strong engines and an ability to recover quickly between consecutive hard days will have a significant advantage.
The sprinters will not be entirely shut out, as a handful of stages offer more straightforward finishes where the fast men can contest bunch kicks. Teams with genuine sprinting assets will spend much of the week protecting those riders and positioning them correctly for the moments when the race opens up.
Weather could play a decisive role, as it so often does in British cycling. September conditions across the varied geography of the route are unpredictable at best, and crosswinds in particular could split the peloton and transform what might appear to be a straightforward transitional stage into a race-defining moment of chaos.
Overall this looks like an edition that could come down to the final stages, with the London finish giving ambitious riders one last chance to snatch time or defend a lead earned through a week of attritional racing.
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