Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2023 i Cycling Plus

Pogačar or Vingegaard? Tubeless or not? Carrot cake or lemon drizzle? Whether to go for an ebike is one of the defining issues of this cycling era. For the naysayers, they ruin the purity of cycling. For those in the yes camp, they can be a stepping stone to a fitter you, a riding-life extender or an around-town companion that can replace a car. We’re in the latter camp here at Cycling Plus, which is why we’ve collated 2023’s most noteworthy e-road and commuter bikes to guide you on your first or latest ebike buy (from p25). And I’ve neglected to mention just what an absolute blast they are to ride… Your experts Warren Rossiter Senior tech editor Our ebike-loving chief tester Warren has racked up many miles over the…

I’ve travelled around the world and lived in six different countries, so I know it doesn’t get any better for cyclists than here in Girona. As a pro, you want good training roads, a warm climate, nearby airports, other pros to train with and a high quality of life. Girona has it all. But it is the quality of life that has kept me living here with my family for 16 years. The culture is phenomenal, the history goes back centuries, and the artistic culture is wonderful. In summer, we’re 45 minutes from the beach. In winter, we are an hour and a half from ski resorts. I don’t think there’s another cycling destination which has its depth. You can get off your bike and slide into the local culture.…

That path, you know the one, that goes behind the houses and out into the fields, the wood, the park, the waterside, the general wilderness beyond (delete as necessary)? The one that takes you traffic-free, to your favourite places? If you’re in England or Wales, there’s roughly an 80% chance you’re trespassing by using it. The right to roam has become a hot topic since wild camping on Dartmoor was effectively banned in a landmark ruling this year. While officials traditionally equate roaming with walking, for many of you reading this, that could also mean getting out on your bike. For the growing numbers of us choosing to avoid the ever-larger vehicles on ever-busier roads, off-road paths are a place of respite, and quiet wonder. Thanks to sometimes centuries-old laws,…

Weight 10.74kg (XL) Frame Carbon Fork Carbon Gears Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 (50/34t, 11-30t) Brakes Shimano Dura-Ace hydraulic disc Wheels Wilier SLR42KC carbon Motor system Mahle X20 250W motor, 236Wh battery, Mahle Pulsar One display, iWoc integrated controller Finishing kit Filante hybrid one-piece carbon bar/stem, Filante carbon seatpost, ProLogo Dimension saddle, Vittoria Corsa Speed 28c tyres WILIER’S FILANTE SLR IN ITS standard guise is the bike of choice for pro-Tour team Astana, and superstar sprinter Mark Cavendish. Put this Hybrid version alongside the SLR and only the bottom bracket shape (where the charge port is) and the iWoc controller in the one-piece bar/stem give away the Hybrid’s powerful secret. Like Orbea, Wilier has chosen Mahle’s rear hub-drive X20 system for its flagship e-road bike. The compact 1,339g X20 motor and small-capacity 236Wh…

Weight 34.2kg (one size) Frame Aluminium Fork: RST Spring 60mm travel Gears Shimano SL-TX50-7R thumb shifter, Shimano Altus MD310 rear derailleur (48t, 11-34t) Brakes Tektro HD-E350 hydraulic disc brakes, 180mm rotors Wheels Double-wall alloy 20” rims 57mm wide Motor system Rad Power 250W rear hub motor 5:1 planetary gear, 672Wh battery, Rad power controller and display, half-grip twist throttle Finishing kit Alloy seatpost, 50mm alloy stem, alloy bar, Custom Rad Power saddle, Kenda K905 K-Shield tyres 20” x 3.3”, kickstand, bell, lights, ’guards Seattle-based Rad Power is North America’s largest ebike brand, known for making practical, cost-conscious urban ebikes. It’s less well known here though. The Radrunner 3 Plus is built around a small-wheeled (20-inch) platform with a practical low step-through frame and a large integrated rack. Its frame is…

Prof Parkin of UWE explains the process involved in planning cycle routes. “First, they decide on the scope – perhaps they’ve noticed there’s lots of demand for cycling in one section of a town but a lack of connections. Next, they gather data on land use, visit roads to do counts of vehicles, and review census data to find out who’s living in an area. “Once they have an idea of the size and scale of a project, planners then use something called the Propensity to Cycle tool – free online at pct.bike (for England and Wales). This gives planners an idea of how many people in a neighbourhood cycle, how far, how often and where to, helping them choose the best routes to build cycle paths.”…

The Testers Ashley Quinlan Senior technical editor Ash is on a bike as often as he’s off it as part of his job to review products Robin Wilmott Technical writer Long-time contributor and former staffer Robin is an ultra-experienced tester Emma Lewis Senior production ed Experienced product tester Emma is a long-term cycling commuter Oscar Huckle Technical writer Oscar has close to a decade of cycling-industry experience under his tyres…

THE ORIGINAL ARCLIGHTS WERE aimed at urban riders with their flat, platform design and unique magnetic-locking light system. These bring mountain bike-style (two-bolt) clipless compatibility and a modular design. They can be used as a stripped-down XC/gravel (race) SPD pedal, a platform SPD pedal or an SPD commuter pedal with built-in lights. They come with four lights that contain COB LED strips. These slide into the hollows on the pedal platform and lock into place, visible from the front, rear and side. The lights turn on when they detect movement, shining white at the front and red behind. Modes are Eco, flash and constant. In eco flash they lasted over 30 hours per charge, standard flashing mode around 11 hours, and 3hrs 15mins in constant. The four-USB-port charging dock charges…

01 Begin in a traditional high push-up position with your hands under your shoulders. 02 Now, position your hands in the shape of a diamond, with index fingers and thumbs touching. 03 Slowly lower your chest towards your hands. Make sure you tuck your elbows in instead of flaring them out. 04 Stop just before your chest touches your hands. 05 Push back up to the starting position. Throughout, keep your back straight and stomach muscles engaged.…

This month’s six-week training plan is all about mastering big mountains! The focus is on finetuning your established fitness for a late-summer gran fondo, sportive or cycling trip. There’s no substitute for training at altitude but, in the absence of high mountains, this plan will support you to make the most of what’s available to you locally. Knowing how to pace long climbs, delivering a series of controlled efforts and managing your nutrition will ensure you have enough energy and skill to take on an event with significant elevation. You can do the weekday sessions indoors or outdoors. Aim to include the off-bike sessions to support efficient power transfer and injury prevention (see next issue’s injury prevention Masterclass), while Fridays are an optional strength day. The training plan uses British…

SAVE 28% Did you know that you can read Cycling Plus on your tablet or phone? Digital subscription offer! • Get an Aqua Evo 12l Rucksack worth £69.99 • Save 28% off the shop price and pay just £25.99 every 6 issues • Gain access to monthly reader offers and exclusive subscriber perks Easy ways to subscribe buysubscriptions.com/CPP409 03330 162 142 quote code CPP409 Head to p66 for more info Or scan the QR code to subscribe ● New gear Fast tyres buyer’s guide Rapid rubber for the road ● Also inside… Late-season smashes Ride inspiration to make the most of your hard-earned form UCI World Championships The best of the action from a memorable 11 days in Scotland Big Ride: Cheep thrills A Norfolk loop with a bird-watching theme…

Welcome to Wrexham! This once less-than-glamorous northern Welsh town is now an international icon thanks to the Disney+ sports documentary series Welcome to Wrexham, which saw Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney attempt to transform the ailing local football team. Long before Hollywood came calling, however, cycling fans have known about the charms of the area, particularly to the west of the town in the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There’s stunning riding to be found here, particularly around the town of Llangollen, which features in the final third of today’s stage. It’s a relatively easy start today, on the rolling roads east of Wrexham and over the border into England. The stage really heats up at around 110km, once the peloton passes through…

Halcyon days for the sprinters continue into the Suffolk town of Felixstowe, with this long, 192.6km route that takes place in the glorious terrain of the county. Hawes sums up the landscape as “Constable Country”, which refers to 18th century Romantic landscape painter John Constable, whose works Rob Ainsley celebrated in the Big Ride of our issue 408. Even if the sporting stakes across this stage end up being low key, it will at least be easy on the eye for television spectators, across this vast, open land through chocolate-box villages. Again, Hawes has been made to work hard to find his two KOMs – a pair of the easiest sort, category 3 (“I just about found them!”) and as a climbing spectacle it’ll be of interest to whoever is…

For years during the glory days of the race straddling either side of the noughties, the Tour of Britain finished with a circuit race in central London. While not ceremonial like the finale of the Tour de France on the Champs-Élysées, the stage rarely upset the general classification apple cart and whoever took the leader’s jersey into the stage prevailed on the other side of it. Grand tours of 21 stages can afford a non-competitive final day, but can eight-day races? The move away from London, which began in 2019 with the Manchester route that opens 2023’s race, has produced much more intriguing final stages, not least with this year’s route through mountainous south Wales. The route begins in Margam Country Park, near Port Talbot, as is the case with…

Just four years ago, the UK’s six, as it was then, men’s UCI Continental teams (the third and lowest level of license in professional cycling) fought in a season-long qualification process for four coveted places at the Tour of Britain – the country’s most prestigious annual race. For the successful four it meant ultimate visibility in an international race that was broadcast live on ITV. For the other two, it was a gut punch. The process had its detractors, but it was a meritocracy and meant year-round competition. When the Tour of Britain re-emerged in 2021 after the pandemic, the picture among British Conti teams was deteriorating. Qualification was axed and invites awarded to all five squads “in recognition of… the lack of racing opportunities since March 2020, as well…

mAh – milliAmp-hour ● The milliAmp hour is the unit that measures electric power over time. In effect this is the battery’s capacity, so the higher the mAh figure, the longer you’ll be able to run the bike. Wh – Watt-hour ● The Watt-hour is also used when it comes to batteries. This is a unit of energy, equivalent to one watt of power expended for one hour. So, a 250Wh battery would be able to provide 250W of power for one hour, or 125W for two hours and so on. It can help tell you approximately how far the bike will go on a single charge. So, if you see 500Wh, this tells you that this bike will travel an average of 50 miles (80km) on a single charge.…

Weight 11.7kg (XL) Frame Orca carbon Fork Orca carbon Gears Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 (50/34t, 11-30t) Brakes Shimano Dura-Ace hydraulic disc Wheels Orbea Carbon 42 rims, Mavic front hub, Mahle rear hub Motor system Mahle X20 250W motor, 353Wh battery, Mahle Pulsar One display, LEV Remote1, iWoc integrated controller Finishing kit OC Performance RP10-R carbon bar, OC Performance RP10 stem, OC Performance RP10 seatpost, Fizik Antares R5 saddle, Pirelli P-Zero 30c tyres ORBEA CLAIMS THIS NEW THIRD generation Gain offers a ‘pure road’ ride experience, rather than being an ebike that looks like a road bike. Indeed, the frame mirrors the brand’s race-orientated Orca OMR, though the Gain’s geometry is a little more endurance-styled. There’s a little more stack (613mm on the XL compared to 590mm on the OMR), less reach (402mm…

Weight 28.84kg (L) Frame Aluminium Fork SR Suntour MOBIE35 Boost EQ 100mm travel Gears SRAM Eagle X01 Eagle AXS, SRAM GX AXS shifter (42t, 10-52t) Brakes Magura MT C ABS hydraulic disc, 180/203mm rotors Wheels Alex Rims MXD7 27.5” Motor system Bosch Performance line CX mid-motor with Powertube 750Wh battery, Bosch Smartphone grip and Kiox 300 display Finishing kit Maxxis Crossmark II EXO TR 27.5 tyres, Canyon CP23 one-piece alloy cockpit, bell, Iridium Suspension dropper post, Selle Royal Essenza Plus Athletic saddle, lights, alu fenders, rack The previous Pathlite:ON’s rugged build and powerful motor plus great price made for a brilliant commuter-cum-weekend trekker. This version gets a new frameset, the latest Bosch CX motor and control system plus Bosch’s all-new ABS braking system and, in this range-topping guise, wireless SRAM…

I was in urban cycling heaven. For several miles, I could pedal along wide, smooth cycle tracks, entirely segregated from pedestrians and automobiles. When I came to four-way junctions, arrows told me where to wait for the traffic lights, with floor markings separating me from other road users. What’s remarkable about this experience is that I didn’t have to travel to the Netherlands, Denmark or Austria to use excellent cycling infrastructure. Instead, I was in the London borough of Waltham Forest. In 2016, the borough, which is on the north-eastern edge of the city, was allocated a tranche of a £100 million grant (along with Enfield and Kingston-upon-Thames) to promote active travel, known as ‘mini-Holland’ schemes. The segregated cycle tracks in Waltham Forest are mainly found along its principal roads.…

Weight 9.18kg (XL) Frame Carbon Fork Carbon Gears Campagnolo Ekar 13-speed (38/9-42) Wheels Campagnolo Shamal carbon disc Brakes Campagnolo Ekar hydraulic disc 160mm rotors Finishing kit Zipp Service course 90mm stem, Easton EA50ax 16° flare bar, Zipp Service course 27.2mm seatpost, WTB SL8 saddle, WTB Riddler 45mm tyres FIFTYONE BIKES MADE ITS reputation building custom carbon bikes out of its Dublin HQ, but the Assassin is the Irish builder’s first full-production bike, with frames built to its exacting specification in Asia and assembled back in the Emerald Isle. At the heart of the Assassin is its adaptable geometry thanks to the ‘flipchip’ dropouts in the fork and rear stays. It means the bike can switch between three positions at the rear: the mid-point gives a 430mm chainstay length that can…

OMNIA IS SWISS-ROOTED BRAND Ere’s all-rounder line, designed for endurance riders, and includes the CLR 45 wheelset, road tyres and bar tape. The unidirectional carbon rims are 45mm tall, 28mm wide externally, and 21mm internally, giving a modern aerodynamic rim shape. The website says recommended road-tyre width is 25mm-32mm, but that you can also fit them with gravel tyres up to 57mm for heading off road. We weighed the front wheel (including tubeless tape and hub end caps) at 741g, the rear at 881g, making a total of 1,622g. The spokes are heat-treated double-butted alloy, said to save up to 30% of the mass of equivalent steel spokes, without compromising Ere do offer a lifetime warranty and crash replacement programmes, though. The test wheels came fitted with tubeless rim tape…

● DESPITE ITS PACKABLE SIZE AND sub-190g weight (in XL, Castelli’s sizing is now truer to size), this jacket is far from light on protection. The main body uses a highly breathable, three-ply Gore-Tex fabric that keeps rain at bay, then there’s a high-stretch Gore-Tex fabric on the lower back so it can deal with full jersey pockets. A waterproof zip and taped seams help keep you dry. The long arms’ inner stretch cuffs work well with gloves but can wet out in heavy rain. I like the rear reflective details, but there’s no pocket. The RRP is also eye-watering.…

Women’s Training Jersey £130 Women’s Training Bib £195 “LEAVE A BETTER PLANET than the one we inherit” is the motto of Australian company Maap, and an ethos many of us share. If you’re in need of new kit, it may therefore ease your conscience slightly to know that this new Training range of kit that’s perfect for summer is Bluesign Approved. That means it’s made only using chemicals and processes that are safe for people and the environment. We all like to look good as we pedal, too, of course, and this stunning range of kit definitely ticks that box. The comfortable Training Jersey contains an impressive 70% recycled materials in the main body and fits really snugly with a flattering shape. The Team-Fit style is designed for all-day comfort,…

Getting there ● The Yorkshire Dales are best accessed by car, but it is possible to reach the start point of this ride on public transport. Darlington train station is just 2.5 hours from London and is an hour and two buses away from the Dales Bike Centre. 01 Where to stay ● The Dales Bike Centre (dalesbikecentre.co.uk) has shared bunk rooms (from £46 per night) and a four-person self-catered flat (from £160 per night) on site. The neighbouring Orchard Caravan and Camping park (orchardcaravanpark.com) has tent and campervan pitches (from £21 per night). 02 Where to eat ● The bike centre’s cafe has a varied menu that goes big on local produce from 9am – 5pm, Monday to Sunday. For an evening meal, the Black Bull (theblackbullreeth.co.uk) in Reeth…

Assos Mille GT Wind Jacket C2 £120 Stow this ultra-packable windproof jacket in a jersey pocket and deploy before descents. It’s close-fitting to eliminate drag and maximise aerodynamics. Lake CX302 £275 Hit the mountains in these lightweight climbing shoes. Ample ventilation keeps feet cool, while a secure fit and stiff carbon sole ensures there’s no compromise on comfort or efficiency. EatMyRide App Free - €49.99 Create personalised nutrition plans based on your metabolism and riding. Link to your head-unit to give feed reminders and real-time insights while you’re out pedalling.…

Full disclosure: this column, for the exigences of the publishing world, has to have been written, edited and submitted to the printers before the end of the Tour de France. In fact, I am typing this lying on a bed in a truck stop hotel on the outskirts of Moulins. Outside, the predicted thunderstorms have not yet rolled in to disperse the thick July air that has suffocated the Massif Central for the last few days. There is a fan in the corner of my room which is moving hot air around. But there is no aircon. I am at the Tour de France, my 21st, and it is my birthday. Outside the trucks rumble on through the night. So, I have no idea how this will read by the…

Sunday 3 - Sunday 10 September Altrincham – Caerphilly Though it may sound modest, the first goal of Tour of Britain organiser Sweetspot will simply be to make it to the finish in Caerphilly! Such has been the tumult of the past few years that the UK’s premier men’s stage race has only achieved this feat once since 2019. A decision on the cancellation of the 2020 edition was made early on in the Covid-19 pandemic, when it became clear that organising a stage race of the Tour of Britain’s stature would be impossible in the highly unusual circumstances. After a barnstorming 2021 edition dominated by a buccaneering Wout van Aert, 2022’s race was cut short on stage 5 after the death of the Queen saw it lose the police…

After a hilly pair of opening stages, the 2023 Tour of Britain ups sticks across England for the East Riding of Yorkshire and a much flatter affair. From 2015 until last year’s race, Yorkshire had been off the menu for route director Andy Hawes and his crew, due to ASO’s Tour de Yorkshire stage race, which had a de facto monopoly on the terrain of the county. That race’s demise at the start of the pandemic opened it up again and Hawes and co have been quick to capitalise, with last year’s stage in Redcar swiftly followed here in a sprinter’s route from Goole to Beverley. As England’s biggest county by area, having Yorkshire in play again makes plotting an eight-stage route across a country as complex as Britain that…

More rich pickings for the sprinters into Harlow. In Tours of Britain gone by, the flat stages of each edition have often been dominated by a single team and their sprinter. Wout van Aert, Caleb Ewan and Mark Cavendish are just some of the fast men who’ve departed the race with a clutch of wins, so will there be one rider mopping up in 2023? Looking at the teams competing this year, could Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) be that man? The Irish sprinter, now 32, has won stages in all three Grand Tours during his career and came to wider prominence at the Tour of Britain a decade ago with a stage win in a sprint that had been preceded by a double ascent of Caerphilly Mountain, which demonstrated his versatility…

The Tour of Britain is ranked 2.Pro on the UCI calendar. The ‘2’ relates to it being a stage race, while the ‘Pro’ means it’s one level below the top-level WorldTour. There are 18 teams in the men’s WorldTour and, while those teams aren’t obliged to ride races at the Tour of Britain’s level, up to 70% of such a race’s start list can consist of WorldTour teams. The remaining 30% or so is made up of ProTeams, Continental and, sometimes, a GB national team of promising youngsters. Whether a WorldTour team enters depends on several factors, including how relevant the race is to its sponsors. Note: more teams may be added before September. KEY WorldTour Team Pro Team Continental Team Ineos Grenadiers ToB starts: 12 ToB stage wins: 19…

ONLY £10.99 inc. UK P&P* 04 FEATURING Gravel bikes for all budgets • Essential gear The best places to ride in the UK Bikepacking essentials • Skills to tame any terrain www.buysubscriptions.com/Gravel2023 or call 03330 162 138* and quote ‘Gravel 2023 Print 1’ Lines are open 8am-6pm weekdays and 9am-1pm Saturdays Overseas please call +44 (0) 1604 973 746 *Prices including postage are: £10.99 for UK residents, £12.99 for Europe and £13.49 for the Rest of the World. UK calls will cost the same as other standard fixed line numbers (starting 01 or 02) and are included as part of any inclusive or free minutes allowances (if offered by your phone tariff). Lines open weekdays 9am to 5pm. Overseas please call +44 (0)1604 973 746. Price. EUR price £12.49, ROW…

Original Pirate material The BBC has released a new podcast about the 2004 death of Italian cyclist Marco Pantani. Pantani: Death of a Pirate, a 10-part pod, is part of the Sport’s Strangest Crimes series, and is hosted by comedian and cycling fan Hugh Dennis A hill to fly on The 2023 UK National Hill Climb Championship takes place on The Struggle, a 2.67-mile, 8% climb near Ambleside in the Lake District (29 October). Riders will get a piece of the race sponsor’s Kendal Mint Cake at the start! Year of the Dragon Entries to the 2024 Dragon Ride in the Brecon Beacons (23 June) opened immediately after a sunny 2023 edition. We have a report in a future issue dragonride.co.uk Break a few Gregs A film about three-time Tour…

Weight 12.56kg (58cm) Frame OCLV carbon Fork OCLV carbon Gears Shimano 105 Di2 (52/36t, 11-34t) Brakes Shimano 105 hydraulic disc Wheels Bontrager Aeolus Pro 37 Carbon Motor system TQ-HPR50 300W motor, TQ 360Wh battery, LCD display, hood-mount remote controls Finishing kit Bontrager RCS Pro stem, Bontrager Pro IsoCore bar, Domane carbon seatpost, Bontrager Verse Short Elite saddle, Bontrager R3 Hard-Case Lite 32c tyres THIS IS THE THIRD ITERATION OF the electrically assisted Domane+, and the motor system has changed yet again. The original model used Bosch’s CX motor, which gave the bike a hefty 17.5kg weight. Next was the Fazua system, which reduced the weight to 13.8kg (58cm). The new TQ Harmonic pin-ring mid-mount motor and integrated 360Wh battery weigh just 1,800g, however, giving a complete bike weight of just 12.56kg…

Weight 34.8kg (one size) Frame 6061 aluminium with rear HT LT-100mm travel air shock Fork Engwe dual-crown suspension fork 100mm travel Gears Shimano Tourney rear derailleur, Shimano SL-TX50-7R thumb shifter (48t, 12-28t) Brakes Filel cable disc brakes, 160mm rotors Wheels Engwe 20” cast alloy Motor system Engwe 750W Brushless motor; 55Nm, 48V 13Ah (624 watts) battery, controller/LCD display, throttle assist Finishing kit Integrated seat, Chao Yang 20” x 4” tyres, lights, full mudguards, top-tube storage box The Engwe M20 takes its styling cues from Honda’s classic 1960s Z series motorbike (commonly called the Monkey bike) with small wheels (just 20 inches), massive knobbly tyres (4 inches wide) and a bench seat bolted directly to the one-size-fits-all frame. It’s well finished overall and the tyres are wrapped around five-spoke mag-alloy cast…

It’s all about improved comfort and safety with this updated aero road helmet. It has the same aerodynamic elongated body that tapers to a flattened point at the rear as the previous version and is still an option for Team Ineos-Grenadiers riders, being chosen on occasion when aero performance trumps all else, but now the improved comfort means you don’t have to save it for racing. There are three front and three mid (upper) holes for ventilation, with three exhaust ports at the back. The inner EPS foam core has been designed to funnel air over the top of the head to help draw heat away. The peaks of these foam channels hold Velcroed-on ‘Resistex Carbon’ padding that also absorbs moisture. The airflow through the helmet then helps dry out…

● SHORTS WITHOUT STRAPS USED to be largely at the budget end of things, but now UK brand FreeRider has joined Rapha, Assos and co in offering pricey versions. As shown in FreeRider’s creation, the benefits are easy toilet stops, no chance of strap irritation, a cooler back and added versatility (i.e. for turbo and gym sets). And the pitfalls? There’s more pressure on the waist band, and I experienced some discomfort around the belly on longer rides in the FreeRiders. Fit, then, is key if you want to go bib-less.…

ONLY £10.99 inc. UK P&P* FEATURING Gravel bikes for all budgets • Essential gear The best places to ride in the UK Bikepacking essentials • Skills to tame any terrain www.buysubscriptions.com/Gravel2023 or call 03330 162 138* and quote ‘Gravel 2023 Print 1’ Lines are open 8am-6pm weekdays and 9am-1pm Saturdays Overseas please call +44 (0) 1604 973 746 *Prices including postage are: £10.99 for UK residents, £12.99 for Europe and £13.49 for the Rest of the World. UK calls will cost the same as other standard fixed line numbers (starting 01 or 02) and are included as part of any inclusive or free minutes allowances (if offered by your phone tariff). Lines open weekdays 9am to 5pm. Overseas please call +44 (0)1604 973 746. Price. EUR price £12.49, ROW price…

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A race organiser crosses their fingers when their tour gets underway. Alongside the hopes for good weather and no bad crashes will be the Tour of Britain’s wish for the enduring health of the monarch, King Charles III, throughout the 2023 edition. Last year’s race didn’t make it beyond stage 5 following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, cutting short a race that promised great racing and spectacular scenery through its final weekend in Dorset and the Isle of Wight. It wasn’t possible for either to return this year but what we do have on the menu this time will be a tightly contested race all the way to an exciting finale in the mountainous lanes of south Wales.…

Back in 2019, the Tour of Britain finished in Manchester city centre with a sprint spectacle on the iconic Deansgate, won by the undoubted star of that edition, Mathieu van der Poel. Four years later, the race returns – a year later than planned, due to the Covid-19 pandemic – with an almost carbon copy stage to open the race. “We were always going to go back to Manchester,” says Tour of Britain route director Andy Hawes. “We always try and have a multi-year agreement with authorities, so they feel they’re getting the most out of their spend with us. Manchester want us to visit each of their 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester – that’s what we did in 2019 and it’s what we’re doing again, with an almost identical…

Ashort jump south to Sherwood Forest sees another stage devoid of major climbs throughout, this time held on a compact route in Nottinghamshire. Flat routes that are likely to go the way of the sprinters dominate the middle stages of the race, with stages 3-6 having a degree of certainty of finishing in a bunch sprint. Those fans who like to see a more selective finish to their racing will be disappointed, but don’t pin the blame on route director Hawes, who works with the terrain that he’s given. That said, the proximity to Sheffield, Nottingham, Mansfield and Lincoln on this East Midlands showcase will hopefully bring out the midweek crowds. The Nottinghamshire leg starts in the visitor centre of the forest made famous by a certain outlaw before heading…

This is largely the same stage from the 2022 race that the riders didn’t reach following the Queen’s death, though bumped back to stage 7 compared to last year, when it was scheduled for stage 6. “It was so disappointing that we couldn’t run those final three stages of last year’s race,” says Hawes. “They were going to be the most amazing stages of last year, so not to run them was devastating. Gloucestershire is back on board this year, which is great, but unfortunately we couldn’t make it work with the Isle of Wight and Dorset, because we had a finish in south Wales already in the plan. Conversations with both are going on. Hopefully we can roll the plans out of the box again and crack on.” The…