Tour of Britain opening stage details revealed

The Lloyds Tour of Britain Men will begin this September where it left off last year, with a brace of stages in East Suffolk, British Cycling announced on Tuesday.

Three new stage towns will appear in the race for the first time: Woodbridge will host the start of stage one, which will go on to finish on the coast at Southwold. Stage two will start and finish in Stowmarket.

The race is set to take place over six stages, starting Tuesday September 2. It has been reported that it will finish in Cardiff, but details of the final four stages are yet to be revealed.

The race has visited Suffolk for the past two editions, but this will mark the first time the county has hosted two stages of the race in a single year.

Last year the Suffolk town of Felixstowe hosted the final stage, which was won by Matevž Govecar (Bahrain Victorious) and sealed overall victory for Stevie Williams (Israel-Premier Tech).

Felixstowe was also a stage town in 2023, hosting the start and also the finish on stage five, which saw Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) take his only stage win of the race on the way to winning the overall three days later.

Limited details have been announced about the opening days of this year's Suffolk stages so far, with organiser British Cycling promising that the full stage routes will be published later this month.

However, it has said that the first stage will pass through Wickham Market, Aldeburgh, Saxmundham, Framlingham, Halesworth, Bungay and Beccles.

Similarly, British Cycling revealed that stage two will take in Debenham and Eye, as well as Sudbury and Hadleigh in Babergh.

Babergh District Councillor John Ward called it "a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase Babergh’s beautiful landscapes, towns and villages to an international audience.

“We’re also committed to providing opportunities to get involved in sports and physical activity and by hosting this international event showcasing prominent cyclists we hope to inspire the next generation of budding athletes right here in Suffolk.”

BC event manager Jonathan Day added: "We are delighted to begin our announcements with the news that East Suffolk will host the opening stage, and two new venues – Woodbridge and Southwold – will appear on the Lloyds Tour of Britain Men map. Then moving onto stage two and a huge thanks to our partners at Babergh and Mid Suffolk, which will see Stowmarket become the third new venue for the men’s race, ensuring a fantastic opening two days in the beautiful Suffolk countryside.

“Over the coming weeks we look forward to sharing more exciting details about this year’s race with fans and building up to what will be another incredible edition of the Lloyds Tour of Britain.”