Cycling: Scotland to host Tour of Britain third stage

With Team Sky riders Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish seeking Tour de France success in July and Olympic success immediately afterwards, Britain’s prospects on two wheels in 2012 are better than ever.

And the longest Tour of Britain yet at 1,349.9 kilometres, which begins on 9 September in Ipswich and ends a week later, could make it an Indian summer, with a battle for podium places until the finish in Guildford.

Stage Three on Tuesday 11 September covers 161.4 kilometres from Jedburgh to Dumfries, taking in Hawick, St Mary’s Loch and Moffat on the way. Race director Mick Bennett said: “We’ve got a race of two halves. The initial first four stages are designed for the sprinter, rouleur-types, rather than the climbers.

“Then the race gradually builds in severity – from Stoke-on-Trent, through Wales, Devon, all the way to the final day in Guildford.

“People may think the Devon stage is going to the decider, but we’ve gone right down to the wire this time with a stage in the Surrey Hills to Guildford.

“It’s not for the faint-hearted, you’d be a fool if you threw everything at the Welsh and the Devon stage and wasted yourself prior to Guildford.

“The final climb of the whole race comes with about 25km to go, White Down. It’s dreadful. It really is a horrible climb. If you’re in yellow you’re going to need to really defend vigorously on the final stage – it certainly won’t be an exhibition stage.”

Cavendish could compete for the final time as the 2011 world champion and parade his rainbow jersey around the country in a race which can provide key preparation for the 2012 World Championships in Limburg, Holland the following week.

Asked about Cavendish’s possible participation, Bennett said: “I think it would be highly probable, but there’s never a guarantee.”

For the first time since 2008, when the race finished in Liverpool as part of the city’s European capital of culture celebrations, the event will end outside of London on a cobbled finish in Guildford.

The final Surrey stage is different to the route for the Olympic road race which Cavendish is hoping to win on July 28.

There are challenges involved in hosting a true Tour of Britain, featuring all regions of the country, while last year, for the first time, near-hurricane force winds forced the cancellation of a stage, leaving Bennett to become something of a meteorologist in the lead-up to this year’s race.

In a packed calendar, the event has also had to battle to retain a desirable date. As well as Cavendish and Wiggins, who took part in 2010, there could be an opportunity to see some GB Olympic track stars.

Team pursuit squad members Geraint Thomas, Peter Kennaugh (both Team Sky), Ed Clancy, Andy Tennant (both Rapha Condor Sharp) and Steven Burke (Team IG-Sigma Sport) could all participate in the Tour, if selected by their teams.

On the Scottish stage, after heading through Moffat, the riders will race to Dumfries, where they will tackle three laps of a testing finishing circuit, giving fans moer chance to see the race before the finale on Whitesands.

EventScotland chief Paul Bush said: “Scotland is the perfect stage for major cycling events and the stunning route to Dumfries and Galloway will provide the ideal backdrop to the action.”

Stage 1: Sunday 9 Sep, Ipswich to Norfolk Showground

Stage 2: Monday 10 Sep, Nottingham to Knowsley

Stage 3: Tuesday 11th Sep, Jedburgh to Dumfries

Stage 4: Wednesday, 12 Sep, Carlisle to Blackpool

Stage 5: Thursday 13 Sep, The Stoke-on-Trent Stage

Stage 6, Friday 14 Sep, Welshpool to Caerphilly

Stage 7: Saturday 15 Sep, Barnstaple to Dartmouth

Stage 8: Sunday 16 Sep, Reigate to Guildford