120 of the world’s best road cyclists are assembled at George Square in Glasgow for the 2019 OVO Energy Tour of Britain Grand Depart. Race begins at 10.30am and spectating is free.
The waiting is over and the cyclists are ready to go for the opening stage of Britain’s biggest professional cycle race, the Tour of Britain.
Beginning at 10.30am (spectator arrival by 9am is recommended) in George Square the 2019 race promises to be a superb spectacle with 20 teams starting stage one which finishes in Dumfries and Galloway.
The race will once again feature a world-class field. Team INEOS, Team Jumbo – Visma and Team Sunweb headline the 20 teams confirmed for this September’s race. Team INEOS include 2014 Tour of Britain winner Dylan van Baarle and Ben Swift the 2019 British road race champion in their line-up.
Eleven teams fresh from competing in the Tour de France will take part in the 16th edition of the modern Tour including the French AG2R La Mondiale squad who make their first appearance since 2009.
In total the OVO Energy Tour of Britain will welcome 10 UCI World Tour teams in 2019 including Team Dimension Data for whom all-time sprint legend Mark Cavendish leads the way joined by fellow Brit Steve Cummings a Tour de France and Vuelta a España stage winner. They’re joined by EF Education First Pro Cycling, Lotto Soudal, Mitchelton – SCOTT, Team KATUSHA ALPECIN and the Movistar Team who won the team classification at the Tour de France last month. Giro d’Italia champion Richard Carapaz and four-time Grand Tour stage winner Mikel Landa (who has finished fourth, seventh and sixth in the last three editions of the Tour de France ) make their Tour of Britain debuts as part of a formidable Movistar line-up.
GB fans will also be able to cheer on the Great British cycling team once again, featuring rising stars such as 2018 National Road Race Champion Connor Swift and senior academy riders including Matt Walls who recently won stages at Paris Arras and the Baby Giro.
This is the full list of race riders.
Photo: SweetSpot
Stage One of the race is a 201 km (125 mile) route from George Square in Glasgow city centre to the town of Kirkcudbright in south west Dumfries & Galloway.
The opening stage will complete a loop of Glasgow city centre before heading south through Renfrewshire, East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire before crossing into Dumfries & Galloway.
While September 2019 is the ninth occasion that Dumfries & Galloway has welcomed a stage finish of Britain’s biggest professional cycle race, it will be the first time that the event has visited Kirkcudbright.
Spectators are advised to arrive from 9am as the teams begin to arrive. The race starts at 10.30am heading out from George Square and Cathedral Street completing a loop of the city before heading south.
Spectating is free at the Tour of Britain Grand Depart and also throughout the stage one route which can be viewed in full here together with timings.
Don’t miss this opportunity to see a peleton full of cycling superstars up close and personal!
The action continues on Sunday with Stage Two in the Scottish Borders starting in Kelso at 11am.
About the OVO Energy Tour of Britain: Re-launched in 2004 after a five year absence from the calendar, the Tour of Britain is British Cycling’s premier road cycling event giving cycling fans the opportunity to see the world’s best teams and riders competing on their doorstep.
Held annually across eight days in September the OVO Energy Tour of Britain is the UK’s highest ranked professional stage race and the country’s largest free-to-watch sporting event featuring Olympic, world and Tour de France champions.
Attracting a roadside audience of over 1.5m spectators the race is ranked at 2.HC level by the UCI, cycling’s governing body.