Tour of Britain 5-12 September 2021

[BlueRoads]

Mostly I'll be looking out for the stunning landscapes and sights in this race. It's a beautiful route, starting in the east of Cornwall, passing through the Dartmoor National Park, the National Botanic Garden of Wales, Snowdonia, the Lake District and the North Pennines, Edinburgh and over the Cairn o'Mount.

In profiles:


2:

Team time trial on stage 3:

4:

5:

6:


7:


8:

Van Aert and Alaphilippe will go head to head and prepare for the Worlds - and Ineos will try to show off in their "home Tour". Other participents are for instance Dan Martin, Marc Soler, Tobias Foss, Mikkel Honoré, Ben Tulett and Giro stage winner Mauro Schmid.
Mark Cavendish is there for the sprints.
Startlist:

Startlist

www.procyclingstats.com

More specific profiles to come, but please feel free to add some if you want to.

 

[Bonimenier]

I believe Foss had to withdraw because of a crash last Sunday.

How many stages will the teams outside JV and DQS manage to win?

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Stage 1 has a hill of 650 metres at 6.6% ending at 2.9k to go, then (as per the official site) ending with 700 metres at 4%, but with a short section up to 13% early on.

Stage 2 features the first major climb of the race, Rundlestone, at about 50 kilometres from the line.

The Stage 3 TT is mostly flattish, but ends with some climbing.

Stage 4, the queen stage, has the climb to Bwlch Llyn Bach (good luck pronouncing that one, commentators) early on...

...then takes on the easy side of Eidda's Well in its second half...

...then ends with two climbs in Llandudno, first the Marine Drive, which is the initial 4.4 kilometres of the profile below...

...before finishing atop the Great Orme, a 1.9 kilometre climb that averages 9.8% as per the official site, but with the first 900 metres at 14.1%. It seems to get pretty irregular after that, sadly I have no profile...

Stage 5 is much easier, but still features some (brilliantly-named, as usual with this race) decent climbs. I don't have a profile for any of those, but I do have one for the uncategorised (and arguably harder) climbing ahead of the Bottom-of-the-Oven, which is the first 9 kilometres of the profile below.

Stage 6 has some longer climbs ahead of a punchy finale. The Hartside Pass is the longest climb of the day...

...but not the hardest. This is Killhope Cross, just after it...

...which in turn backs into Burtree Fell, the final 2.9k of the profile below.

The finale features three hills, the final of which is the finish. We start with Busty Bank (I swear I haven't made up the name)...

...followed by the easier Pennyfine Road...

...then finishing at the Angel of the North, with the final 2.2 kilometres at 3.1%. The road flattens towards the finish.

Stage 7 is the most straightforward of the lot, no profiles here.

Stage 8 features one last hard climb, Cairn o'Mount, but it's too early to do anything.

There's some interesting things to do with both Edinburgh and Aberdeen as finish locations, but both stages will be flat sprints. The upside is that it forces aggressive racing on Stage 6.

 

[roundabout]

Bwlch Llyn Bach (good luck pronouncing that one, commentators) early on...

I think it only looks scary, but it's just something like Bulch Lin Bach.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Stage 4, the queen stage, has the climb to Bwlch Llyn Bach (good luck pronouncing that one, commentators) early on...

Bäckstedt should know how to do it properly, if he's on duty, and Hatch is a graduate of the University of Wales.
But those from other countries might find themselves in a bit of trouble.

 

[roundabout]

Great Orme from memory has a rather flat part a bit after the houses are over and then a ramp up to the end after the old copper mine.

One thing to keep in mind is that it can get very windy at the top, but I think there is some shelter from the tramway embankment, so probably riders won't get blown off the road.

 

[BlueRoads]

Stage 1 has a hill of 650 metres at 6.6% ending at 2.9k to go, then (as per the official site) ending with 700 metres at 4%, but with a short section up to 13% early on.

Stage 2 features the first major climb of the race, Rundlestone, at about 50 kilometres from the line.

The Stage 3 TT is mostly flattish, but ends with some climbing.

Stage 4, the queen stage, has the climb to Bwlch Llyn Bach (good luck pronouncing that one, commentators) early on...

...then takes on the easy side of Eidda's Well in its second half...

...then ends with two climbs in Llandudno, first the Marine Drive, which is the initial 4.4 kilometres of the profile below...

...before finishing atop the Great Orme, a 1.9 kilometre climb that averages 9.8% as per the official site, but with the first 900 metres at 14.1%. It seems to get pretty irregular after that, sadly I have no profile...

Stage 5 is much easier, but still features some (brilliantly-named, as usual with this race) decent climbs. I don't have a profile for any of those, but I do have one for the uncategorised (and arguably harder) climbing ahead of the Bottom-of-the-Oven, which is the first 9 kilometres of the profile below.

Stage 6 has some longer climbs ahead of a punchy finale. The Hartside Pass is the longest climb of the day...

...but not the hardest. This is Killhope Cross, just after it...

...which in turn backs into Burtree Fell, the final 2.9k of the profile below.

The finale features three hills, the final of which is the finish. We start with Busty Bank (I swear I haven't made up the name)...

...followed by the easier Pennyfine Road...

...then finishing at the Angel of the North, with the final 2.2 kilometres at 3.1%. The road flattens towards the finish.

Stage 7 is the most straightforward of the lot, no profiles here.

Stage 8 features one last hard climb, Cairn o'Mount, but it's too early to do anything.

There's some interesting things to do with both Edinburgh and Aberdeen as finish locations, but both stages will be flat sprints. The upside is that it forces aggressive racing on Stage 6.

Thank you so much Devil, there's nothing left for me to do.

 

[tobydawq]

Bäckstedt should know how to do it properly, if he's on duty, and Hatch is a graduate of the University of Wales.
But those from other countries might find themselves in a bit of trouble.

At least they won't finish a stage in Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

 

[BlueRoads]

Tomorrow the race starts in Penzance.

And yes, of course there's a sunset all day long in Penzance.

 

[Nirvana]

The profiles with the names of locations written like they have taken a selfie in front of a mirror give me headache but we are talking about a country that even drive at the opposite side so probably nothing could be done.

Anyway the route looks pretty good, especially compared to last time, and usually this race deliver.

 

[BlueRoads]

I believe Foss had to withdraw because of a crash last Sunday.

How many stages will the teams outside JV and DQS manage to win?

You're right, Foss is off the startlist now.

 

[TMJ]

Unusually for this time of year the Tour of Britain will be ridden in mostly glorious, warm, dry weather according to the experts.
We are told there is going to be a sudden mini-heatwave, resulting in temperatures in the mid to late 20's.
Should be great.

 

[RedheadDane]

ISN definitely wins the prize for the weirdest team lineup photo ever!

Also; @Red Rick! Get to work with the stickying!

 

[wheresmybrakes]

I'm more impressed that there is a place name called "start proper" on every stage towards the beginning.

 

[BlueRoads]

For everyone slightly confused by the organizer's profile, here's the classic version of today's stage:

 

[BlueRoads]

Does anyone know about any wind?

 

[wheresmybrakes]

Does anyone know about any wind?

From the SE 10-12 mph

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Like the look of the route, no last-minute appearance by MAL but otherwise an interesting field too.

 

[Avoriaz]

Unusually for this time of year the Tour of Britain will be ridden in mostly glorious, warm, dry weather according to the experts.
We are told there is going to be a sudden mini-heatwave, resulting in temperatures in the mid to late 20's.
Should be great.

they’ve been telling us that all summer….

 

[noob]

For once a colourful peleton. Love the moody feel of the surroundings and the weird almost dreamy light.

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

Surprised GCN hasn't got any commentary on yet.
Maybe that's a good thing in case Jo Rowsell pops up and forgets to see any non-British riders in the race.

 

[RedheadDane]

Surprised GCN hasn't got any commentary on yet.
Maybe that's a good thing in case Jo Rowsell pops up and forgets to see any non-British riders in the race.

They're on on the ESP/GCN feed.

 

[BlueRoads]

And constantly talking about how star-studded the startlist is, when actually it's not that overwhelming apart from a handful of very big riders.

 

[BlueRoads]

What's that black-white flag for?

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

They're on on the ESP/GCN feed.

I'm on GCN on my laptop and no one is there to praise the nation that invented cycling in 2012.

What's that black-white flag for?

Cornwall