Tour of Britain: Opening stage route revealed ahead of return to the Scottish Borders
Last updated 25th Jul 2024
The route has been confirmed for the opening leg of the 2024 Tour of Britain, ahead of its return to the Scottish Borders.
Starting and finishing on the cobbles in Kelso on September the 3rd, the televised event will pass through Coldstream, Gordon, Melrose, Jedburgh and Denholm, and include two climbs over Scott's View.
Local cyclist Oscar Onley has spoken of his hopes of being involved in the five-day event, which ends in Suffolk, after making his debut in the Tour de France.
It's hoped the spectacle will help secure the region's growing reputation as a cycling destination, with this year being the tenth time in 15 years that the area has held a stage start or finish.
Commenting on the 113-mile route, which includes more than 2,300 metres of ascent, Race Director Rod Ellingworth said: "The Scottish Borders has a long history with the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men and so we are delighted to have worked with our partners at Scottish Borders Council to come up with this spectator friendly, and challenging route, for the riders.
"With five categorised climbs this will be a tough opening stage, and is by no means certain to end in a sprint, so should set up a thrilling battle between the sprinters and those riders who believe the final climb at Dingleton can be a launchpad to victory in Kelso."
The first stage of Britain’s biggest professional bike race underway features two loops, enabling spectators in Kelso and Melrose, and on the categorised climbs at Scott’s View and Dingleton, to see the race in action twice.
From Kelso the race will first head east alongside the River Tweed to Coldstream, turning north and west via Greenlaw, Gordon and Smailholm to the first ascent of the scenic viewpoint of Scott’s View.
The 2.5 kilometre climb averages 2.5%, and is followed within 10 kilometres by the tougher 6.2% average gradient of the two kilometre climb of Dingleton, in the Eildon Hills above Melrose.
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The route continues south to Denholm, climbing Dunion Hill (three kilometres at 5.4%) and descending into Jedburgh before returning to Kelso alongside the River Teviot.
Riders will then repeat the intermediate sprint in Melrose and the King of the Mountains climbs at Scott’s View and Dingleton, the latter coming with just under 23 kilometres of racing remaining, to set up a thrilling chase back to the cobbled finish in Kelso.
The stage will also feature three intermediate sprints, where time bonuses and points for the sprinters jersey are available, the first coming in Melrose after 75 kilometres of racing, and the second in Kelso (128km) on the first passage of the finish line with just over an hour of the stage remaining. The Melrose sprint will then be tackled for a second time after 156 kilometres.
Councillor Scott Hamilton, Scottish Borders Council’s Executive Member for Community and Business Development, said: “The route for the Scottish Borders stage of this year’s Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men is superb and will be a fantastic advert for the Scottish Borders and cycling in the region. It is especially exciting to have the element of a loop through Kelso, the iconic viewpoint at Scott’s View and Melrose, giving spectators the opportunity to see the race on multiple occasions.
“We look forward to welcoming visitors from across the country to enjoy not only some world class cycling, but also our brilliant local businesses and additional activities and events that we are planning.”
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