Tour of Britain 2022 route: map of cycling race stages, dates, TV coverage and when riders will be confirmed

The Tour of Britain will return to the streets of Great Britain once more as the AJ Bell Tour recently announced its route for the 2022 races.

The annual race is comparable to the Tour de France in its stature within the cycling world and is the biggest road cycling event in the country.

As Britain’s cyclists have become bigger stars within the sport and their presence more permanent, the Tour of Britain has risen in popularity with thousands of spectators lining the streets to watch the men whizz by.

The first Tour of Britain took place just after the second World War in 1945 and was known as the Victory Cycling Marathon. The event was initially held as a celebration for the end of War and victory over facism.

Since 1945, various sponsors have got their hands on the name - with the Milk Race, Kellogg Tour and PruTour among some of the sponsorship names for the race

The Tour of Britain, as it is now known, started only 18 years ago in 2004 and has attracted the biggest names in cycling, such as Mark Cavendish, Geraint Thomas and Julian Alaphilippe.

So where and when will the races be held? Here is all you need to know about Britain’s biggest cycling event.

When is the Tour of Britain?

The Tour will take place from Sunday 4 September until Sunday 11 September 2022.

Where is the Tour taking place?

The full details of each stage have not been announced and will be given in more detail during the Spring. However, the Tour of Britain has released the cities for each stage.

There are eight stages of the Tour all taking place in different parts around Britain:

Stage One: Aberdeen Sunday 4 September

This will be the eighth time there will be a Scottish Grand Depart in modern Tour history and will also mark the furthest north the race has ever started.

Aberdeen will host the Tour of Britain for the second time after its inaugural stage as part of the competition last year.

Stage Two: Scotland Monday 5 September

For the third time, Scotland is set to host multiple days of the Tour of Britain and continues to be part of the country’s continuing commitment to hosting world-class racing ahead of the UCI Cycling World Championships.

Stage Three: North East England and Sunderland Tuesday 6 September

Sunderland hosted the Milk Race - a semi-professional race before the Tour of Britain - on multiple occasions during its 35-year history.

Stage Four: Redcar and North Yorkshire Wednesday 7 September

This will be the first time since 2009 that the Tour of Britain has returned to Yorkshire. North Yorkshire is well known for their welcome of cycling events. They have previously hosted the start of the Tour de France as well as the Tour de Yorkshire and UCI Road World Championships.

Stage Five: Nottinghamshire Thursday 8 September

Nottinghamshire returns to the Tour of Britain map for the first time since 2018.

Stage Six: Gloucestershire Friday 9 September

This is the first time that the countryside of Gloucestershire has been used for a full day’s event.

This county has seen parts of the tour before, such as races through Cheltenham, Cinderford and the Forest of Dean but for the first time a full stage will take place within the county.

Stage Seven: Dorset Saturday 10 September

This is the first time in the history of the Tour of Britain that Dorset will host a stage. Similarly to Sunderland, Dorset hosted the Milk Race on multiple occasions but will now see the professional race come to its county for the first time.

Stage Eight: Ryde and Isle of Wight Sunday 11 September

For the first time ever, Ryde will host the start of the final stage and the Isle of Wight will host its biggest sporting event ever.

How to watch on TV

ITV4 will offer full coverage of the race if fans are unable to follow the cyclists in person.

When will the riders be announced for the Tour of Britain?

There are likely to be announcements in August with riders hinting and confirming their presence at the race, but the full list of cyclists will not be announced until Saturday 3 September 2022, just one day before the start of the race.

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