First names released for Tour of Britain Men start list
The six-day race, beginning Tuesday September 2, features strong field of previous victors


This year's Lloyds Tour of Britain Men peloton will feature some of the race's former stars, with a start list replete with previous winners of stages and the overall too.
Topping the list is 2018 GC winner Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling), who also had a great race in 2021 when he wore the world champion's rainbow bands and took three stage podiums as well as placing third on GC.
The Frenchman has ridden the Tour of Britain three times and has finished in the top 10 in half of the stages he's raced there – expect to see him in the thick of the action on the hillier days this year.
Former stage winners Ben Swift (Ineos Grenadiers), Matteo Trentin (Tudor Pro Cycling), Rasmus Tiller (Uno-X Mobility) and Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) will also be in attendance at the race start on Tuesday September 2, in Woodbridge, Suffolk.
Bennett won his ToB stage back in 2013, when he triumphed in a bunch sprint on stage five in Caerphilly, while Swift recorded his first ever pro win at the race, all the way back in 2009, winning stage seven in Yeovil.
Also on the current provisional startlist is Visma-Lease a Bike rider Olav Kooij, who boasts a quartet of stage wins from 2023, when he led the GC for much of the race, only to be overtaken by team-mate Wout van Aert in the final days.
The only other rider to be announced so far – Remco Evenepoel of Soudal Quick-Step – has yet to win a stage of the race. He rode last year between Olympic Games and World Championship time trial victories, but suffered in the rain and came away with a best stage placing of fifth.
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This year's race will be held over six stages, running from September 2 to Sunday September 7. Beginning in the east of England with two stages in East Anglia, the race moves slowly west, with stage three in central England between Milton Keynes and Ampthill, a Warwickshire stage with a hilltop finish.
The final two stages will be held in Wales, with stage five featuring a double ascent of the Tumble, and the final stage starting outside the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome of Wales in Newport and finishing in Cardiff.
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After cutting his teeth on local and national newspapers, James began at Cycling Weekly as a sub-editor in 2000 when the current office was literally all fields.
Eventually becoming chief sub-editor, in 2016 he switched to the job of full-time writer, and covers news, racing and features.
He has worked at a variety of races, from the Classics to the Giro d'Italia – and this year will be his seventh Tour de France.
A lifelong cyclist and cycling fan, James's racing days (and most of his fitness) are now behind him. But he still rides regularly, both on the road and on the gravelly stuff.
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