Tour of Britain comes to Manchester
The Grand Départ of this year's Tour sets off from Altrincham
Last updated 3rd Sep 2023
Hundreds of thousands of people are to descend on Greater Manchester today as the city plays host to the first stage of the Tour of Britain.
The 2023 edition of the race kicks off in Altrincham, before snaking around to include every borough in the county along the route.
In total, 120 world-class cyclists will be present in the Grand Départ in the Altrincham’s Market Street, which is set to start at 11:45am.
The racers will then work their way around the region, with a final sprint finish taking place on Deansgate.
Deansgate already has experience of hosting the Tour, having been the final stretch for Mathieu van der Poel to clinch victory in 2019.
Cycling fans from across the world are flocking to the Manchester, before the tour then travels to other areas, including Wrexham, and East Yorkshire.
Since its return in 2004, the Tour of Britain has become a staple of the cycling calendar, as well as generating a big boom for local economies.
It is estimated that around £330m has been generated into the UK economy since the race came back nearly twenty years ago.
Lisa Dodd-Mayne from Sport England told us she's hoping that the event will encourage people back onto their bikes.
“This just shows the ambition Manchester as a city has,” Dodd-Mayne remarked. “You know, it's fantastic to see that you've got the Tour of Britain starting here tomorrow.
“There will be people watching the start of that race and thinking: ‘I might want to give it a go. I want to get on a bike. I want to try and do something like that for me’.
“Actually, then to see that people at all levels are doing that in their own city makes it really feel like it’s for them.”
Manchester’s National Cycling Centre by the Etihad Stadium has recently re-opened, allowing cycling professionals and fans alike to share their love for the sport.
The centre boasts a world-class velodrome, which was used during the city’s hosting of the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Other amenities include a BMX arena and a state-of-the-art gym.
Gold medalist cyclist and world champion sprinter Emma Finucane opened up to told us how important these facilities are for people getting into the sport.
“I feel like now we have this amazing facility, where we have the gym so close, the physio and then we have the velodrome literally across the hall from that. I think it's really important to have that space where we can train professionally,” she said.
Speaking of getting new people into the sport, Emma said she was thrilled to see track sessions that are open to the public.
Emma stormed to a gold medal after winning the women’s individual sprint competition at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Glasgow.
But she said that she hopes that her success, as well as that of the Tour of Britain will inspire more people to take up cycling and keep the sport alive.
“I think it's important then obviously in Manchester having the tour Britain right in the city centre. I think it's really encouraging to so many people.” she said.
“You can see that, and people can say: ‘Ohh, it is fun to ride your bike and you can end up riding in these amazing countries’.
“I think it will bring a lot to Manchester and I think I love this place like I've been living here for two and a half years and to have these different venues - it's amazing.”
Over 600,000 people are expected to line the streets of the route, with the economic boost from the route set to last for months after the race.
ITV4 will broadcast the stage live from 11:30a.m. with coverage extending into the afternoon as the racers cross the finish line.
You can check out the full route the cyclists are taking here.